{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-fischbach-introduce-resolution-protect-us-vaccine-intellectual", "Miller-Meeks & Fischbach Introduce Resolution to Protect U.S. Vaccine Intellectual Property", "2021-06-17", "2021", "2021-06", "Republican", "House", "IA", "Mariannette Miller-Meeks", "M001215", "millermeeks.house.gov", "millermeeks", "https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, June 17th, 2021, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) and Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) introduced a resolution to protect the intellectual property (IP) of COVID-19 vaccines. This resolution would express the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. should not waive IP rights relating to COVID-19 vaccines or treatments.\n\n\u201cWaiving the IP for the COVID-19 vaccine would destroy billions of dollars in U.S. IP by handing it over to countries like Russia and China. Giving away our IP will also set a precedent for future pandemics and deter pharmaceutical investment,\u201d said Miller-Meeks. \u201cIf we have learned anything from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that we now understand the importance of having our private sector partners working with us to prepare for future emergencies. As a doctor and member of both the Homeland Security Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, I understand the importance of protecting our IP to support our healthcare system and bolster our domestic supply chains.\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks to Operation Warp Speed and its unprecedented public-private partnership, the United States led the rest of the world in developing safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccines in record time. As a direct result of that American ingenuity, the United States is well on its way to recovery and is able to lead the effort to deliver vaccines around the world,\u201d said Fischbach. \u201cWaiving the intellectual property rights for these vaccines will not only upend our ongoing pandemic response domestically and abroad, it will also discourage the innovation and investment required to develop such lifesaving treatments in the future.\u201d\n\nTo read the full text of the resolution, click HERE.\n\nBackground:\n\nBuilding on decades of research and in conjunction with Operation Warp Speed, the United States pharmaceutical industry successfully developed three incredibly effective COVID\u201319 vaccines to date, with a fourth vaccine currently undergoing clinical trials. These vaccines are the most respected, most sought after vaccines in the world due to their exceptional efficacy and safety, which is due to both the painstaking work and investment during development as well as the diligent efforts of the United States pharmaceutical industry to qualify and oversee world-class manufacturing facilities to produce the vaccines.\n\nIn addition to protecting U.S. IP, this resolution would state the policy of the U.S. should not be to strip innovators of valid IP protections because it would undermine innovation, weaken the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, and damage our ability to respond to future pandemics.\n\nIP protections are vital to incentivize innovation, including the innovations that directly led to the COVID\u201319 vaccines and may revolutionize future vaccine development efforts. Additionally, we have seen that IP protections have not contributed significantly to shortages of COVID\u201319 vaccines or had a significant effect on the pace of vaccinations, both of which are predominantly dependent on logistical challenges, raw material shortages, and other factors.\n\nOriginal Cosponsors (19): Ted Budd (NC-13), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Liz Cheney (WY-At Large), Jeff Duncan (SC-03), Tom Emmer (MN-06), Scott Franklin (FL-15), Bob Gibbs (OH-07), Mark Green (TN-07), Jody Hice (GA-10), Ashley Hinson (IA-01), Richard Hudson (NC-09), Jim Jordan (OH-04), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Burgess Owens (UT-04), John Rutherford (FL-04), Jeff Van Drew (NJ-02), and Ann Wagner (MO-02).", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:57:00Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://millermeeks.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-meeks-fischbach-introduce-resolution-protect-us-vaccine-intellectual"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6061309725046158, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}