PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 21, 2019
Finding Orphan-disease Remedies With Antifungal Research and Development Act of 2019 or the FORWARD Act of 2019 This bill establishes programs to support the research of endemic fungal diseases and the development of antifungal drugs. (Endemic fungal diseases are fungal infections, e.g., Valley fever, that tend to occur in specific geographic areas and affect particular at-risk populations, e.g., older adults.) Specifically, the bill establishes the Endemic Fungal Disease Working Group to review, coordinate, and make recommendations about the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) efforts to address endemic fungal diseases. The working group is comprised of experts from both relevant federal agencies and the private sector. The bill requires HHS to award grants for fungal disease research to local hospitals, higher education institutions, public health agencies, and nonprofit organizations. HHS also must establish an accelerated research program modeled after its research program to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria. The bill further requires the National Institutes of Health to develop a publicly-accessible server using blockchain technology to securely facilitate the sharing of fungal disease clinical research data. (Blockchain technology uses cryptography to create a digital ledger of transactions that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large, decentralized, and permanent network.) Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must prioritize the review of drugs to treat endemic fungal diseases and fast track the approval of such drugs at the request of applicants. The FDA must issue draft and final guidance related to the approval of antifungal products and therapies, including those that diagnose, treat, or prevent Valley fever.
People & committees
Sen. McSally, Martha [R-AZ] · R–AZ
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 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 S.1567 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 S.1567 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 S.1567 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 S.1567 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.