Today, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) lauded Congress for reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and urged President Bush to sign the critically important legislation into law.  The legislation, which has received wide bi-partisan support, would allow states to provide health insurance to a greater number of children from low income and working families. By reauthorizing SCHIP, an additional 3.1 million uninsured children will receive coverage, as well as the 6.6 million children currently in the program.  President Bush announced his intention to veto the legislation. If the President fails to sign this legislation into law, approximately 800,000 children will lose their SCHIP coverage.

Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Amendments, Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act approved with Final Package of Food and Drug Administration Amendments

Members of the Senate today passed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Amendments Act, which contains legislation – the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Amendments of 2007 and the Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act – that were introduced earlier this year by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) to improve the safety and availability of medications and medical devices for children.  The bill will also make important changes to the nation’s drug safety system so that the FDA has clear authority, backed up by new enforcement tools, to ensure the safety of prescription drugs once they are on the market.  The FDA Amendments Act, which was approved by the House yesterday and the Senate today, will now go to the President’s desk to await his signature. 

Today, Senator Dodd called on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to stay strong on children’s health by ensuring that the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) maintains the compromise reached by House and Senate Democrats.  The compromise called for reducing pediatric exclusivity from 6 months to 4.5 months.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and chairman of its Subcommittee on Children and Families, today lauded unanimous Senate passage of S. 558, the Mental Health Parity Act of 2007.  If enacted into law, the Mental Health Parity Act would help ensure that all Americans who have insurance coverage for physical ailments such as a broken limb will also have comparable coverage for a mental illness.  Previously, Dodd voiced strong concerns about the bill and its impact on Connecticut which has strong mental health parity and consumer protection laws.

Today, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) lauded the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) announcement of $450,000 in grants for Connecticut to fight the manufacture, use, and distribution of methamphetamine. The COPS Methamphetamine Initiative will provide $43.6 million to 117 different state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to combat methamphetamine use.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Jack Reed (D-RI) today reacted to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement of a new proposed rule on sunscreen labeling that would require sunscreens to protect against UVA rays along with UVB.  Under current standards, the FDA does not require that sunscreen protect against UVA rays, which are a major cause of skin cancer and premature aging.