The American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011 is now in the U.S. House of Representatives following U.S. Senate passage of the bill in November.
The bipartisan bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Budget, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
The proposed legislation is designed to support development of a U.S. supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) to produce technetium-99m (Tc-99m) and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources.
The bill would also gradually eliminate U.S. export of highly enriched uranium over the next 14 years and promote the production of Mo-99 from low-enriched uranium. In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. companies would be able to enter into cooperative agreements with international entities that currently have low-enriched technology.
