The 109th United States Congress reconvened February 27/28 after an extended break for the Presidents' Day holiday. Congress is expected to be preoccupied in this session with questions of national security, but several pieces of health-related legislation already introduced could be considered by House or Senate committees.

Biodefense and Pandemics

Playing into the national security theme, several bills call for improving countermeasures to possible bioterrorism attacks or influenza pandemics.

S. 1880, introduced last October by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would amend the Public Health Service Act to encourage development of drugs that may be useful in the event of an attack or a pandemic and would give the Secretary of Health and Human Services broad authority to support the cost of screening, research, development, testing, and initial manufacture of potential candidates. That’s similar to another Senate bill, S. 1873, introduced by a group of Republican senators, that calls for a biomedical advanced research and development agency.

Several bills specifically address the possibility of an influenza pandemic, including H.R. 4062, the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act, introduced in November by Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) and 65 co-sponsors, which would create a national director of pandemic preparedness and response and would authorize public education and awareness and health professional training. Another influenza-related bill, H.R. 4245, introduced by Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA), calls for increasing supplies of vaccines and antivirals and creating a national stockpile for use in an influenza pandemic. In the Senate, S. 2112, the “Seasonal Influenza and Pandemic Preparation Act of 2005,” introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), would increase influenza vaccination rates through the provision of free vaccines.

Medicare for All

Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) in January introduced the most comprehensive health care reform bill of this session. His bill, S. 2229, calls for extending Medicare to all Americans, from birth to the end of life, starting with children up to the age of 20 and persons 55 to 65 years of age. The program would be financed by payroll taxes and general revenues and would require that medical records for individuals be maintained electronically. Introducing his bill, Kennedy said, “We all know that Medicare is one of the most successful social programs ever enacted. It makes no sense to make it available only to senior citizens.”

Testing for Performance-Enhancing Drugs

S. 1974, the “Drug-Free Varsity Sports Act of 2005,” introduced in November by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), would establish a grant program in the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools to allow state educational agencies to test secondary school students for performance-enhancing drug use. States would be required to provide “recovery, counseling, and treatment programs” for students who tested positive.

Methamphetamine

Two bills, H.R. 3755 and H.R. 3756, both introduced by Representative David Reichart (R-WA), would increase penalties for methamphetamine traffickers and persons who commit crimes related to methamphetamine.

Bills referred to in this article can be read and tracked on the Congressional Record website at http://thomas.loc.gov.