HR4473-119

What This Bill Does

The BIRD Health Act builds a health-technology program on the existing United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation model. Congressional findings note that the BIRD Foundation has approved more than 1,000 projects, invested more than $500 million, generated more than $10 billion in sales, and recently had about 30 percent of approved projects related to health, biotechnology, life sciences, medical devices, diagnostics, and telemedicine. HHS must enter into a cooperative agreement to establish the BIRD Health Program, coordinated with Commerce and the BIRD Foundation. The program must be administered by the BIRD Foundation and jointly governed by HHS and Israel's Ministry of Health. It supports joint U.S.-Israeli research and development, commercialization, and deployment of medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, biological products, genomics, personalized medicine, telemedicine, digital health, AI diagnostics, infectious-disease prevention, vaccine development, and epidemiological research. The bill authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2032, requires HHS to report within 180 days on the program framework, requires proposal acceptance within one year after framework establishment, requires annual reports, and requires a comprehensive review every three years.

Who Benefits and How

BIRD Foundation administrators benefit from a new health-specific program built on their existing bilateral R&D model. U.S. health technology companies benefit from funding opportunities for joint commercialization with Israeli partners. Israeli health technology companies benefit from access to U.S. collaborations, HHS governance, and commercialization support. Patients needing health innovations benefit if funded projects speed deployment of diagnostics, devices, biologics, digital health tools, vaccines, or AI-driven technologies.

Who Bears the Burden and How

HHS must negotiate the cooperative agreement, oversee the program, report within 180 days, submit annual reports, and conduct three-year reviews. The Department of Commerce must coordinate with HHS and the BIRD Foundation on implementation. The Israeli Ministry of Health must participate in governance, focus-area selection, and project selection. Federal taxpayers fund $10 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2032 if appropriated.

Key Provisions

• Establishes a BIRD Health Program through an HHS cooperative agreement coordinated with Commerce and the BIRD Foundation.
• Provides joint governance by HHS and the Israeli Ministry of Health for focus areas and project selection.
• Authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2032.
• Requires a 180-day framework report, proposal acceptance within one year after framework establishment, annual reports, and three-year comprehensive reviews.
• Covers health technologies including medical devices, pharmaceuticals, digital health, AI diagnostics, and biologics.