Bruce Lindsay, a lawyer at Environmental Justice Australia, said the department's action was welcome but "merely a procedural step" that did not automatically signal it would block the clearing.
There were few security restrictions around the Capitol at the time; anyone who wanted to watch Congress in action was welcome to walk into the building and take a seat in the House or Senate public galleries.
While high-level commitments and efforts to galvanise action are welcome, such summits risk becoming publicity stunts if they don't lead to action and prioritising the issue at the country level.
The action was welcome news for the drug's maker, Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis, which hopes the medicine will be a blockbuster and help replace declining revenue as drugs that now account for 20percentt of its sales lose their patent protection in the next few years.
The threat of legal action was welcomed by equality groups, who say more needs to be done to tackle discrimination in the use of police powers.
The promise of action was welcomed by campaign groups, who urged Obama to appoint someone to his administration to act immediately.
The Senate action was welcomed today on Wall Street, where enthusiasm for the Argentine economy and stock market have cooled considerably.
