Senate Passage Media Clips Report September 19, 2014 1. The Hill, September 17, 2014, Senate passes bill to improve sunscreen. By Ramsey Cox 2. TIME, September 17, 2014, Senate Passes Bill for Better Sunscreen. By Alexandra Sifferlin 3. The Daily Caller, September 18, 2014, Senate Bill Passes To End FDA Stranglehold On Sunscreen Innovation. By Jonah Bennet 4. Skin, Inc. September 19, 2014, 2014 Sunscreen Innovation Act Unanimously Passes. 5. Inside Health (Subscription), September 18, 2014, Sunscreen Legislation Backers Seek Swift Enactment After Senate Clears Bill. By Stephanie Beasley 6. Politico Pulse (Subscription), September 18, 2014, Sunscreen bill heads to the House now. 7. Politico Pulse (Subscription), September 18, 2014, HELP approve sunscreen bill. 8. Office of Senator Kay Hagan, September 19, 2014, Bipartisan Sunscreen Innovation Act Cosponsored by Hagan Passes the Senate. 9. Northwest Georgia News, September 18, 2014, Isakson applauds Senate passage of bipartisan bill to help prevent skin cancer. 10. Primer{TBR}, September 18, 2014, Senate Passes Sunscreen Innovation Act to Improve Sunscreen. 11. Smithsonian, September 18, 2014, The US Is Trying to Expedite Sunscreen Innovation. By Rachel Nuwer 12. Cosmetics & Toiletries, September 18, 2014, Sunscreen Innovation Act Passes: What Does it Mean? By Rachel Grahenhofer 13. Office of Senator Mitch McConnell (Press Release), September 18, 2014, McConnell- Sponsored Sunscreen Innovation Act Passes Senate. 14. MarketPlace, September 18, 2014, Your sunscreen is way out of date. By Nancy Marshall-Genzer 37#32748001_v1 15. Earthy Essence, September 18, 2014, 2014 Sunscreen Innovation Act Unanimously Passes. 16. Melanoma Research Alliance, September 17, 2014, MRA Applauds Senate Passage of the Sunscreen Innovation Act. 17. The Melanoma Research Foundation (Press Release), September 17, 2014, The Melanoma Research Foundation Applauds the Senate for Unanimous Approval of Sunscreen Innovation Act. 18. Inside Health (Subscription), September 17, 2014, Sunscreen Bill Supporters Seek Full Senate Vote Before Session Closes. By Stephanie Beasley 19. CQ Roll Call (Subscription), September 17, 2014, Sunscreen Bill Backed by Senate Panel. By Melanie Zanona 20. The Hill, September 17, 2014, Senate panel approves sunscreen bill. By Elise Viebeck 21. COV News, September 17, 2014, Isakson-backed sunscreen bill advances. 22. EWG (Press Release), September 17, 2014, Senate Committee Moves Bill To Bring New Sunscreens to U.S. Market 23. Power Engineering (Press Release), September 17, 2014, BASF Supports the Sunscreen Innovation Act. 24. The Melanoma Research Foundation (Press Release), September 17, 2014, The Melanoma Research Foundation Applauds the Senate for Swift Approval of Sunscreen Innovation Act. 25. Melanoma Research Alliance (Press Release), September 17, 2014, MRA Applauds Senate Bipartisan Support of the Sunscreen Innovation Act. 26. Roll call, September 12, 2014, Senators Press for a Vote on Sunscreen Ingredient Measure. By Paul Jenkins 27. CQ Roll Call (Subscription), September 11, 2014, Lawmakers Emphasize Need for Sunscreen Legislation. By Melanie Zanona 2 The Hill September 17, 2014 Senate passes bill to improve sunscreen By Ramsey Cox Link to article The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that aims to improve sunscreen protection. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) introduced S. 2141, the Sunscreen Innovation Act, which would require the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a process for the review and approve over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreens. The Senate passed the measure through a unanimous consent agreement and it now heads to the House for further action. The Senate passed H.R. 4751, which renames the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial as the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The House passed the bill earlier this month, meaning it now heads to President Obama’s desk for his signature before becoming law. H.R. 4809 was also passed through a unanimous consent agreement. It reauthorizes provisions of the Defense Production Act of 1950 through fiscal year 2019 so that the president can prepare for national defense, military conflicts, disasters, or acts of terrorism. The House passed the bill in July so it now heads to Obama’s desk. The Senate also passed Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) DHS OIG Mandates Revision Act, S. 2651. That bill heads to the House. 3 TIME September 17, 2014 Senate Passes Bill for Better Sunscreen By Alexandra Sifferlin Link to article A highly anticipated bill that could bring more sunscreen ingredients to market has passed The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to respond to current pending sunscreen ingredients within a shorter period of time — an important factor in ensuring that people have the most up-to-date ways to protect their skin from cancer- causing UVA rays, proponents of the legislation have argued. While skin cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S., eight sunscreen ingredients have been pending in FDA backlog for years — some for over a decade — even while several of the pending ingredients have already been used in Europe and Asia for years. As TIME reported in May, proponents for sunscreen modernization were optimistic that a bipartisan bill, the Sunscreen Innovation Act, would pass over the summer. The bill, which also requires the FDA to respond to all potential sunscreen ingredients in the future within a year and a half at maximum, moved along quickly through the summer months. A version of the bill was passed by the House in July. Now, the House and Senate will meet to agree on a final legislation of the bill. Once they reach consensus, it will go to President Obama to sign. “The two bills are pretty darn similar, so we don’t anticipate the negotiation will be contentious,” says Michael Werner, policy adviser of the Public Access to SunScreens Coalition. One of the reasons it takes so long for sunscreen ingredients to get approval in the U.S. is because of the regulation process that the FDA currently has in place. In Europe, ingredients are regulated as cosmetics, but in the U.S. sunscreens are go through a process similar to drug approval, which takes longer and has more safety requirements. However, many ingredients had not received any feedback from the FDA, not even negative feedback, which prompted skin-care advocates and policymakers to question why the FDA had taken so long to respond, even given the excuse of a stringent system. As the bill began to move through the voting process, the FDA started responding to some of the pending applications. 4 The Daily Caller September 18, 2014 Senate Bill Passes To End FDA Stranglehold On Sunscreen Innovation By Jonah Bennet Link to article Without any objection, the Senate has passed a bill forcing the FDA to speed up the approval process for sunscreen technology, HAPPI reports. Sunscreen technology has stagnated in the United States since the 1990s, not because companies have failed to innovate, but because the Food and Drug Administration has been sitting on proposals submitted 12 years ago without even reviewing them. The proposals include new sunscreen ingredients, and since the FDA has dropped the ball, the Senate has picked it up with the passage of the Sunscreen Innovation Act on Wednesday night. Rates of melanoma have skyrocketed in the last 40 years, giving lawmakers a sense of urgency. For men, melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, has increased 400% for women, 800%. The new bill would speed up the FDA’s approval process, specifically for sunscreen products, and mandate a predictable time frame for a decision. “Americans have gone more than a decade without the kinds of innovative sunscreen products citizens in other countries have enjoyed for years. Meanwhile, skin cancer has become a public health crisis that has lead US Surgeon General to issue A Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer calling for the government and stakeholders to act immediately to address this deadly, but preventable disease,” said Michael Werner, policy advisor for the Public Access to SunScreen Coalition. Other countries have benefited from new sunscreen technology, but the FDA has gummed up the review process, putting the United States sometimes 15 years behind Europe, Asia, and Central and South America. 5 “Congress’ commitment to addressing the skin cancer epidemic in the United States was clearly demonstrated in tonight’s Senate passage of the Sunscreen Innovation Act,” Werner said. “It’s a great day for Americans. Now US consumers will be able to get the latest in sunscreen technology that has been available to citizens of countries all over the world.” 6 Skin, Inc September 19, 2014 2014 Sunscreen Innovation Act Unanimously Passes Link to article The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Sunscreen Innovation Act (S. 2141) on Sept. 17, 2014, which the Public Access to SunScreens (PASS) Coalition applauded. This passage follows the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's approval of the bill earlier in the day. According to PASS, the last over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen ingredient approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was in the 1990s and since 2002, eight new sunscreen applications have been filed—and are still awaiting review, 12 years later. These technologies have been widely available in Europe, Asia, and Central and South America, in some cases for more than 15 years. Over the past 40 years, melanoma rates have risen 800% among young women and 400% among young men. The bipartisan Sunscreen Innovation Act (H.R. 4250/S. 2141) would streamline the approval process for new sunscreen ingredients to ensure they receive a transparent review within a predictable timeframe, in turn ensuring the American public gains access to the latest safe, effective and innovative sunscreen products to protect against the sun’s most harmful rays. "Congress’ commitment to addressing the skin cancer epidemic in the United States was clearly demonstrated in tonight’s Senate passage of the Sunscreen Innovation Act," said Michael Werner, PASS Coalition Policy Advisor, in a press statement.