WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee will next week mark up a package of public health bills, including pandemic-preparedness legislation, according to five lobbyists.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee hasn’t yet announced the markup, and the lobbyists didn’t know the exact date. But time is running out for reauthorizing a law that created several of the federal government’s biodefense and pandemic-preparedness programs.
The Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act was enacted in 2006 to help the government respond to nuclear and biological weapons, naturally occurring threats like avian influenza, and natural disasters. Those programs include the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which runs the country’s stockpile of medical supplies and coordinates responses to pandemics and other national emergencies, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which promotes development of medical products that defend against those threats.