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Rare Diseases Act of 2002

Public Law 107-280 · H.R. 4013 · 107th Congress · began in the House

Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Nov 6, 2002 · Health

Sponsor: Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL-20)

Cosponsors (54): Rep. Henry Waxman,

Passage votes

  • HouseVoice vote
  • SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Rare Diseases Act of 2002 - Amends the Pubic Health Service Act to: (1) establish an Office of Rare Diseases at the National Institutes of Health; and (2) provide for rare disease regional centers of excellence. Sets forth the duties of such Office and regional centers, including research and educational duties. Defines rare disease as any disease or condition affecting fewer than 200,000 persons in the United States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 through 2006.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 13 actions.

  1. Nov 6, 2002Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 107-280.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. Oct 28, 2002PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. Oct 17, 2002FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
  5. Oct 1, 2002FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  6. FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
  7. FloorFloor · At the conclusion of debate, the chair put the question on the motion to suspend the rules. Mr. Waxman objected to the vote on the grounds that a quorum was not present. Further proceedings on the motion were postponed. The point of no quorum was withdrawn.
  8. FloorFloor · Mr. Shimkus moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  9. Jun 27, 2002CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Energy and Commerce Committee
  10. Jun 19, 2002CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Energy and Commerce Committee
  11. Apr 2, 2002CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee
  12. Mar 20, 2002CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
  13. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.