On June 22, The Pew Charitable Trusts joined nearly 50 organizations in asking the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to include the growing threat of antibiotic resistance as part of its pandemic preparedness efforts. Specifically, the organizations call on the committee to include the Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act in pandemic preparedness legislation.
The bipartisan PASTEUR Act supports the development of new antibiotics and promotes their appropriate use; the bill was reintroduced in the House of Representatives and Senate by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA) on June 16.