S. 909: Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-23 · Health · Latest: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held.

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Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-23 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
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

Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021

Plain summary

Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021 This bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug. Under the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including development cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population. The bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · 6 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] reported raising $26.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (1)

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).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s909.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s909 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117