PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Apr 17, 2008
Safeguarding America's Pharmaceuticals Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to destroy imported counterfeit drugs and certain adulterated or misbranded imported drugs.
Requires the manufacturer of a prescription drug to provide to each wholesale distributor or dispenser a packing list or comparable document that includes information identifying the drug's proprietary and established names and National Drug Code number.
Requires each person engaged in wholesale distribution of a prescription drug to provide information on each prior transaction involving the drug.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to report to Congress on the feasibility and operational efficiencies of adopting security technologies, including track and trace technology throughout the prescription drug supply chain. Phases in requirements for standardized numerical identifiers that are unique to each unit of a prescription drug.
Requires the Secretary to issue regulations to establish an effective drug identification and tracking system to authenticate the wholesale distribution history of any prescription drug that is subject to a requirement for such an identifier.
Requires the Comptroller General to study the availability and cost of technologies to dispensers to comply with this Act.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) award matching grants for drug identification and tracking systems to ensure the security and integrity of the drug supply chain; and (2) issue guidelines for wholesale distributors that prescribe requirements that include mandatory background checks and physical inspection of facilities.
Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act.
Requires the Secretary to study threats to the domestic prescription drug supply chain and make recommendations for improvements.
People & committees
Rep. Buyer, Steve [R-IN-4] · R–IN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.5839 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.5839 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.5839 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.5839 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.