H.R. 4374: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize additional emergency uses for medical products to reduce deaths and severity of injuries caused by agents of war, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4374: To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize additional emergency uses for medical products to reduce deaths and severity of injuries caused by agents of war, and for other purposes.

115th Congress · introduced 2017-11-13 · Health · Latest: Signed by President.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-11-13 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Signed by President. (final step reached)
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize additional emergency uses for medical products to reduce deaths and severity of injuries caused by agents of war, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.) (Sec. 1) This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorize the emergency use of an otherwise unapproved medical product if the Department of Defense (DOD) determines that there is a military emergency involving an agent that may cause imminently life-threatening and specific risk to U.S. forces. If a military emergency is determined to exist, the bill allows DOD to request that the FDA expedite certain procedures for approving medical products that would be reasonably likely to diagnose, prevent, treat, or mitigate such risk. The FDA must take specified actions to facilitate such a request by DOD. The bill repeals provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 that allow DOD, rather than the FDA, to authorize the emergency use of an unapproved product under similar circumstances. Unless DOD determines such meetings to be unnecessary, the FDA shall meet with DOD: (1) semi-annually to conduct a full review of relevant medical products in the DOD portfolio; and (2) quarterly to discuss the development status of regenerative medicine advanced therapy, blood, and vaccine medical products and projects that DOD prioritizes.

Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize additional emergency uses for medical products to reduce deaths and severity of injuries caused by agents of war, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Fiscal year: The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Public Law)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr4374.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr4374 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115