S 3440 United States Senate · 117th Congress

A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prohibit the Federal Government from limiting State access to key therapies, such as monoclonal antibodies, and from prioritizing Federal contracts over State contracts relating to purchasing supplies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Summary
This bill restricts various presidential and federal authorities related to the acquisition of supplies to combat COVID-19. Specifically, the bill prohibits the President from exercising certain authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prioritize the performance of federal contracts or orders for COVID-19 supplies over the performance of state or territorial contracts or orders. In addition, states or territories may use federal COVID-19 relief funds for COVID-19 supplies that they had been unable to purchase because of prioritized performance of federal contracts or orders. (The Defense Production Act of 1950 confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in order to provide essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.) Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration may not ration, limit, restrict access to, or otherwise control the quantity of a medical product authorized for use during an emergency, including by requiring products to be distributed through a state- or territorial-based system.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2022
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Jan 4, 2022 Last action Jan 4, 2022
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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
2
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jan 4, 2022
Committee
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
upper
Jan 4, 2022
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz
RRepublican
TX
n/a