Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 1848, H.R. 3204, S. 252

On Wednesday, November 27, 2013, the President signed into law:

H.R. 1848, the “Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013,” which requires the Federal Aviation Administration to advance the safety and continued development of small airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements for such airplanes under the Code of Federal Regulations in a final rule to be issued no later than December 15, 2015;

H.R. 3204, the “Drug Quality and Security Act,” which clarifies the authority of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate specialty compounded (altered) drugs; creates a new voluntary program for FDA to regulate entities engaged in batch compounding that elect to register with the Agency; and establishes authority for FDA to develop a national track-and-trace system to secure the pharmaceutical supply chain and minimize opportunities for contamination, adulteration, diversion, or counterfeiting; and

S. 252, the “Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Reauthorization Act” or the “PREEMIE Reauthorization Act,” which reauthorizes and expands activities in the Department of Health and Human Services with respect to preterm labor and delivery; establishes as part of NIH’s Pediatric Research Initiative a National Pediatric Research Network; and authorizes funding for NIH for the care and maintenance of chimpanzees retired from use in its research programs in the statutorily-established sanctuary system where they live.