On November 11, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a bill (S. 286) to reauthorize and expand the Birth Defects Prevention Act (P.L. 105-168), which established the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved S. 286 on February 12 (see The Source, 2/14/03).
Sponsored by Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO), the measure would reauthorize the Act through FY2007 and would make a number of technical changes to current law. S. 286 also would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research on the prevention of birth defects. Finally, the Secretary would be required to support a National Spina Bifida Program to prevent and reduce suffering of the nation’s most common permanently disabling birth defect.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved comparable legislation (H.R. 398) on January 29 (see The Source, 1/31/03).
