United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 3839 (112th)
Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2012
Introduced
31 January 2012
Last action
16 February 2012 · Referred
Status
Referred to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.
Sponsors
Rep. Carney, John C., Jr. [D-DE-At Large], Larry Bucshon, Colleen Hanabusa, Rep. Hanna, Richard L. [R-NY-22], Diana DeGette, Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large], Rep. Hahn, Janice [D-CA-44], Rep. Owens, William L. [D-NY-21], Thomas Rooney, Rep. Burton, Dan [R-IN-6], Rep. Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY-19], David Loebsack, Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7], Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10], TIM RYAN, Rep. Boswell, Leonard L. [D-IA-3], Rep. Ackerman, Gary L. [D-NY-7], Rep. Richardson, Laura [D-CA-37], Daniel Webster, Rep. Bartlett, Roscoe G. [R-MD-6], CAROLYN MALONEY, Rep. Latham, Tom [R-IA-3], Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4], Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI], Rep. Reyes, Silvestre [D-TX-16], Rep. Braley, Bruce L. [D-IA-1], Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5], NITA LOWEY, COLLIN PETERSON, Rep. Wolf, Frank R. [R-VA-10], Rep. Schilling, Robert T. [R-IL-17], Steve King, Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT], Sanford Bishop, Gerald Connolly, Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM], Rick Larsen, Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3], Rep. Fincher, Stephen Lee [R-TN-8], Kevin Yoder, Zoe Lofgren, DON YOUNG, David Scott, Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]
Subjects
Healthcare
Source updated
8 June 2026
Summary
Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) define the term "critical drug" based on the medical necessity and vulnerability to shortage of a drug or biological product; (2) establish, make publicly available, and update semiannually a list identifying each critical drug and its manufacturers; (3) promptly remove from such list any drug or biological product that no longer meets such definition; and (4) establish, make publicly available, and update monthly a list identifying each critical drug that is in a critical drug shortage in the United States, the severity of and reason for the shortage, alternate therapies and regions particularly affected, and an estimated date by which the necessary quantities of the drug will begin reaching providers. Allows manufacturers to request removal of a drug from such lists on the basis that it doesn't meet the definition of "critical drug" or is not in a critical drug shortage. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a proactive system for giving notice to the public concerning modifications to the critical drug shortage list, (2) establish a system for giving notice of any imminent critical drug shortage to critical drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors and manufacturers of alternative therapies, (3) notify the Attorney General of any critical drug shortage, (4) study the feasibility of creating a national contingency plan addressing critical drug shortages, (5) expedite the review of applications for approval of critical drugs and requests by sponsors of such drugs to approve manufacturing process changes or alternate suppliers of active ingredients, and (6) improve the process for regulating critical drugs. Express the sense of Congress that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should increase the number of personnel responsible for identifying and addressing critical drug shortages. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to direct the Attorney General to increase a quota as appropriate for a drug listed in a critical drug shortage that is or contains a controlled substance.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
31 January 2012
Introduced
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Source: IntroReferral
31 January 2012
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
31 January 2012
Introduced
Introduced in House
Source: IntroReferral
2 February 2012
Introduced
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H387)
Source: IntroReferral
16 February 2012
Referred
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Source: Committee
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
- Introduced in House · 31 January 2012 · Official file
Documents
3 official files
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House · EN · 31 January 2012
Introduced in House (PDF)
Introduced in House · EN · 31 January 2012
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 31 January 2012
Sponsors
- Rep. Carney, John C., Jr. [D-DE-At Large] · D · Sponsor
- Larry Bucshon · R · Sponsor
- Colleen Hanabusa · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Hanna, Richard L. [R-NY-22] · R · Cosponsor
- Diana DeGette · D · Cosponsor
- Del. Bordallo, Madeleine Z. [D-GU-At Large] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Hahn, Janice [D-CA-44] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Owens, William L. [D-NY-21] · D · Cosponsor
- Thomas Rooney · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Burton, Dan [R-IN-6] · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY-19] · D · Cosponsor
- David Loebsack · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10] · R · Cosponsor
- TIM RYAN · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Boswell, Leonard L. [D-IA-3] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Ackerman, Gary L. [D-NY-7] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Richardson, Laura [D-CA-37] · D · Cosponsor
- Daniel Webster · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Bartlett, Roscoe G. [R-MD-6] · R · Cosponsor
- CAROLYN MALONEY · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Latham, Tom [R-IA-3] · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Reyes, Silvestre [D-TX-16] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Braley, Bruce L. [D-IA-1] · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] · D · Cosponsor
- NITA LOWEY · D · Cosponsor
- COLLIN PETERSON · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Wolf, Frank R. [R-VA-10] · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Schilling, Robert T. [R-IL-17] · R · Cosponsor
- Steve King · R · Cosponsor
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] · D · Cosponsor
- Sanford Bishop · D · Cosponsor
- Gerald Connolly · D · Cosponsor
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] · D · Cosponsor
- Rick Larsen · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3] · R · Cosponsor
- Rep. Fincher, Stephen Lee [R-TN-8] · R · Cosponsor
- Kevin Yoder · R · Cosponsor
- Zoe Lofgren · D · Cosponsor
- DON YOUNG · R · Cosponsor
- David Scott · D · Cosponsor
- Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1] · D · Cosponsor
- · hsju00 · Standing
- · hsif00 · Standing
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/3839
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/112/hr/3839
- us · 112-hr-3839 · source updated 8 June 2026