OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Senate passes FDA bill as SCOTUS countdown continues

The Senate passed a major Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill Tuesday, getting some bipartisanship out of its system before the Supreme Court’s explosive decision on healthcare reform.

The FDA bill passed the Senate 92-4. The same legislation passed the House by a voice vote earlier this month. President Obama is expected to sign the bill, which reauthorizes user fees that the FDA collects from drug and medical-device companies.

It also makes several changes to FDA policy, mostly geared toward bringing innovative products to market more quickly while bolstering the FDA’s safety oversight.

A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers reached an agreement on the bill after both chambers easily passed stand-alone versions with only slight differences. Although the user fees do not expire until the end of the fiscal year, lawmakers wanted to send the FDA bill to Obama before the Supreme Court’s healthcare decision, which will likely spark renewed partisan rancor over health policy.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) praised lawmakers’ work on the FDA bill, saying the process brought “unprecedented collaboration, public input, and bipartisanship.”

The Hill has the story on Tuesday’s vote.

Waiting for Godot SCOTUS: The Supreme Court waiting game continues. There were no new tea leaves to read Tuesday (not that any tea leaves are actually readable). But as the decision grows closer, the pressure is growing on lawmakers and stakeholder groups to be ready with a quick response to the decision, however it goes. House Republicans will hold multiple press conferences Thursday to either celebrate or condemn the decision, and the day is already wall-to-wall with conference calls organized by outside groups.

Check back in the morning for more on the Supreme Court.

Wasted: If the court overturns the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s first term will have been a waste, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday.

“As you know, the Supreme Court is going to be dealing with whether or not ObamaCare is constitutional. If it's not, if ObamaCare is not deemed constitutional, then the first three and a half years of this president's term will have been wasted on something that does not help the American people,” Romney said at a campaign stop in Virginia.

The Hill has more.

Tuesday's agenda

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on health and benefits legislation.

State by state

California bill to regulate medicinal marijuana put on hold

Electronic records tied to fewer malpractice claims

Study: Hispanics shorted on mental-health care in Calif.

Lobbying registrations

Holland & Knight / Safecor Health

Reading list

High court's decision could prompt lawsuits on billions already spent

The immigration ruling: a hint on healthcare?

GAO to study redundant Medicare audits

CDC trying out free AIDS tests at drugstores

German court: Circumcision on boys an assault

What you might have missed on Healthwatch

Cantor: GOP House committed to repeal of Obama healthcare law

Reid vows to block vote on Paul's 'life at conception' amendment to flood bill


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