BIRD Health Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 4473
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Health
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-07-16: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-16T08:08:01Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose
The legislation aims to create a formal bilateral program between the United States and Israel to boost joint research, development, and commercialization of health technologies. It builds on the existing Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation model to address health challenges through collaboration, focusing on innovative products and services that improve healthcare delivery.
Key Provisions
- Establishment of the BIRD Health Program: The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must enter a cooperative agreement with Israel to launch the program, coordinating with the Secretary of Commerce and the BIRD Foundation. The program targets joint efforts in developing and delivering healthcare products and services.
- Administration and Governance: The BIRD Foundation will manage the program, similar to its roles in energy, cyber, and security collaborations. It will be overseen by representatives from HHS and Israel's Ministry of Health, who will define focus areas and select projects.
- Program Goals:
- Promote joint research and development (R&D) between U.S. and Israeli institutions, companies, and academics in health technologies.
- Support commercialization of innovations in areas like medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biological products, genomics, personalized medicine, telemedicine, digital health, artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, infectious disease prevention, vaccine development, and epidemiological research (study of disease patterns).
- Build stronger health ecosystems through U.S.-Israel partnerships.
- Program Components and Funding Areas:
- R&D Funding: Supports joint projects, early-stage clinical trials (tests on humans to evaluate safety and effectiveness), biological product innovation, process improvements, advanced manufacturing to cut costs and boost quality, and a framework for sharing health data for research.
- Innovation and Startup Support: Encourages collaborations between startups and companies, technology transfer (moving innovations from labs to markets), joint ventures, and innovation hubs to help U.S. technologies enter the Israeli market, with emphasis on cybersecurity, data privacy, and research.
- Healthcare System Strengthening: Shares best practices in clinical care and management.
- Telemedicine and Digital Health: Funds initiatives to improve infrastructure, system interoperability (ability of different health systems to work together), data analytics, and cybersecurity.
- Disease Prevention: Supports joint work on infectious diseases, vaccines, and data sharing.
- Biological Product Manufacturing: Promotes joint facilities in the U.S., faster development of treatments and nutrition sources, and supply chain plans to prevent disruptions.
- Project Selection: Projects are chosen based on technical innovation, commercial potential, alignment with health priorities, partnership strength, and ability to meet unmet medical needs.
- Funding and Timeline: Authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2026–2032, administered via the BIRD Foundation with HHS and Commerce oversight. HHS must report on program setup within 180 days of enactment; proposals and funding start within one year.
- Reporting and Evaluation: Requires annual HHS reports to Congress on progress, impacts, and recommendations; triennial (every three years) reviews of the program's success, with suggestions for renewal or expansion.
- Definitions: "Health technology" includes medical devices, pharmaceuticals, digital health solutions, AI-driven diagnostics, and biologics (products derived from living organisms, like vaccines or gene therapies).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
This act introduces a dedicated health-focused expansion of the BIRD Foundation, which previously handled general industrial R&D and sector-specific programs (e.g., energy, cyber). It formalizes and funds a new health collaboration, building on a 2016 U.S.-Israel health agreement and a 2020 congressional allocation of $2 million for similar efforts. No direct amendments to prior laws are specified, but it creates new authorities for HHS to administer international health R&D funding through the BIRD model.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: HHS and the Department of Commerce gain new coordination roles and funding oversight responsibilities, potentially increasing administrative workload but fostering expertise in international health partnerships. Israel's Ministry of Health will participate in governance.
- Citizens: Could lead to faster access to innovative, affordable health products (e.g., vaccines, telemedicine tools) and improved disease prevention, benefiting patients with unmet needs. Economic spillover might create jobs in R&D and manufacturing.
- International Relations: Strengthens U.S.-Israel ties by expanding bilateral cooperation beyond existing agreements, promoting shared health data and supply chain resilience, which could enhance global health security amid challenges like pandemics.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- U.S. Government: HHS (lead agency), Department of Commerce, and Congress (via reporting requirements).
- Israeli Government: Ministry of Health (governance partner).
- BIRD Foundation: Acts as program administrator and funding manager.
- Private and Academic Sectors: U.S. and Israeli companies, startups, universities, and research institutions in health tech, who can apply for funding and form partnerships.
- Healthcare Ecosystem: Patients, clinicians, and manufacturers benefiting from new technologies, data sharing, and supply chain improvements.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Ensures compliance with existing U.S.-Israel agreements and laws on international cooperation, data sharing, and funding. Includes safeguards for patient privacy and cybersecurity in cross-border health data exchanges, but may require new frameworks to handle sensitive information without violating privacy laws like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects medical data).
- Constitutional: No apparent conflicts; aligns with Congress's powers to regulate foreign commerce and appropriate funds for international initiatives under Article I.
- Political: Reinforces U.S.-Israel strategic alliance in health innovation, potentially appealing to bipartisan support for economic and security benefits. Could influence future foreign aid or trade policies by modeling successful bilateral programs, though funding levels might spark debates on budget priorities.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14]
Cosponsors (8)
Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1], Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24], Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21], Rep. Finstad, Brad [R-MN-1], Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3], Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3], Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26], Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10]
Recent Actions
- 2025-07-16: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 2025-07-16: Introduced in House
- 2025-07-16: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- United States-Israel Bilateral Innovation for Research and Development in Health Act of 2025 — issued 2025-07-16 — PDF (11 pages)