Senate inches closer to passage of FDA reauthorization bill

The Senate struck a deal to vote Thursday afternoon on 17 amendments before moving onto final passage of the bill to reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration's user fee programs.

The Hill: Senate Reaches Deal On FDA Bill Amendments
Under the agreement, the Senate will consider 17 amendments to the bill, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (S. 3187), which reauthorizes a user-fee program for drug companies seeking FDA approval. The Senate will debate amendments until Thursday at 2 p.m. After votes on the amendments, the Senate will vote on the bill itself (Strauss, 5/23).

CQ HealthBeat: FDA Reauthorization Has Bipartisan Support; 17 Amendments In Question
After a day of delay, the Senate reached a deal to vote Thursday afternoon on 17 amendments, then on final passage of the bill to reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration's user fee programs for five years. The FDA reauthorization bill has bipartisan support and is expected to pass. The only question is which amendments will be added to the measure. Some of the amendments may be adopted by voice vote, while others are much more controversial."We have tomorrow to finish this. We should be able to do that," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on the floor Wednesday afternoon (Ethridge, 5/23).

Politico Pro: Senate FDA Bill Down To 17 Amendments
HELP Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) parried offerings of various additions to their hard-negotiated bill and were expected to oppose the most controversial proposals, three lobbyists told POLITICO. Four amendments, in particular, are subject to the high bar of a 60-vote threshold, which cuts into their chances of success -; but they're still expected to receive a vote when the Senate wraps up work on the bill Thursday (Norman, 5/24).