Perrigo via AP
This illustration provided by Perrigo in May, 2023, depicts proposed packaging for the company’s birth control medication Opill. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision.
Monday, May 22, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., responds to a question during a student interview at Mater Academy Mountain Vista campus Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. Cortez Masto is part of a group of Democratic U.S. senators trying to protect women's reproductive rights by sponsoring a bill allowing purchase of a daily-use contraception over the counter.
Reproductive rights in Nevada
The days of needing a prescription to obtain hormonal birth control may soon be over, as a collective of Democratic U.S. senators last week introduced a bill that would allow patients to purchase daily-use contraception over the counter.
Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Patty Murray of Washington and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii introduced the Affordability is Access Act, which seeks to “ensure coverage of all contraception” the Food and Drug Administration has approved for “routine, daily use” without a prescription, Cortez Masto’s office said in a release.
The bill also maintains the FDA as the sole authority to determine the safety and efficacy of drugs, and reinforces the agency’s ability to make drugs available without a prescription — a topic central to an ongoing federal lawsuit seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of the abortion medication mifepristone.
“Women’s reproductive freedoms are under attack across the country, and we know that far-right extremists won’t stop at limiting a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “It is essential that we put policies in place now that will provide timely access to over-the-counter birth control once approved by the FDA. Comprehensive coverage for contraception will help thousands of Nevada women stay healthy and in control of their own lives.”
Under the proposed legislation, entities that research and develop contraceptives must apply to the FDA for review and approval for sale without a prescription, according to Cortez Masto’s office. Upon the receipt of such an application, the FDA must determine whether the contraceptive meets the “rigorous safety, efficacy, and quality standards” for over-the-counter use, as established by a law known as the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Only if a product meets those standards, Cortez Masto’s office said, may the FDA approve the contraceptive. The bill, if passed, would also require that any retailer which stocks contraceptives approved for OTC use make them available without a prescription.
“We are here today to make sure women can get the birth control they need — and can get it without having to pay extra, ask permission, or jump through ridiculous hoops,” Murray said in a statement. “We are here to make sure that when birth control is available to everyone over the counter, it is also affordable for everyone. Because affordability is access. And today, we are closer than ever to over-the-counter birth control.”
Amodei urges ‘fiscal restraint’
Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said in a statement Wednesday that Congress must “act as an example for fiscal restraint” to the American people shortly after the House subcommittee he chairs made recommendations to a funding bill for the legislative branch in the 2024 fiscal year.
The bill includes $5.3 billion in discretionary appropriations to fund the House and joint legislative branch items, marking a 4.5% decrease from the current fiscal year budget, his office said in a release. The bill would provide roughly $1.8 billion for operations of the House of Representatives, an increase of $3.4 million compared with this year but $51.8 million short of what was requested.
“(This bill) provides adequate resources to ensure members of Congress can effectively serve their constituents and maintains funding for House Committees to make certain that essential oversight responsibilities are upheld — which is more important than ever,” Amodei said in a statement.
U.S. Capitol Police are expected to receive $46.3 million more than what was received last year, upping the department’s total operating budget to $780.9 million, Amodei’s office said. The budget also includes funding increases for the Congressional Budget Office, the Library of Congress and the Government Accountability Office.
“With the Capitol complex finally open to the public along with the heightened threats on members and congressional staff, the mission of our Capitol Police has never been more in focus,” Amodei continued in his statement. “With that said, I am proud that this bill also increases funding to help the Capitol Police recruit, train and retain officers.”
The release of budgetary figures comes as President Joe Biden and House leaders negotiate a bill to raise the debt ceiling in a bid to avoid defaulting on the nation’s debts. Officials say the U.S. could reach the debt limit threshold as soon as June 1, but Biden told reporters ahead of a G7 summit in Japan last week that he’s confident the U.S. will avoid defaulting.
“I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” he said.
Bill would bolster rural EMS access
Cortez Masto was also among a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce legislation that would increase payments to Medicare for emergency ambulances in all communities, with an increased emphasis on rural areas, her office said.
Further, the bill would provide additional funding to help ambulance service providers hire and retain EMT staff and update equipment, Cortez Masto said in a release. She joined Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, in introducing the bill.
“My bipartisan legislation will expand these lifesaving medical services everywhere in Nevada, and I will always fight to protect Nevadans’ access to quality emergency care,” Cortez Masto said in a news release.
Cortez Masto’s office notes the bill has support from the American Ambulance Association, the National Rural Health Association, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and others.
“Families in rural communities deserve to know emergency care is available,” Cassidy said in a statement. “This bill ensures emergency access to health care is available regardless of where they live.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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