The nonpartisan 21st Century Cures Act was unanimously approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday in a 51-0 vote.
The goal of the nonpartisan legislation is to aid in modernizing and personalizing health care while encouraging greater innovation, supporting research and streamlining the system to deliver better, faster cures to more patients.
“This historic day marks a big bipartisan step forward on our path to cures,” full Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said. “We have all said too many early good-byes to people we love and treasure. Every single person has a common goal: we want more time with those we love. In this, the greatest country in the world, Americans deserve a system second to none. We can and must do better. The time for 21st Century Cures is now.”
Upton, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), full Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX) authored H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act.
“In the last century, American medicine leapt from medicine shows to the mapping of the human genome,” DeGette said. “With the 21st Century Cures Act, we seek to support the biomedical community in making a similar leap forward in this next century. With billions in support for our premier research and development institutions and comprehensive reform of our systems, 21st Century Cures will make a real difference in the lives of patients and their families.”
Pitts called the vote an “important next step” in the committee’s work to get the legislation enacted into law before year’s end.
“This bill is improved since the subcommittee marked it up on May 14, and that demonstrates the collaborative nature of our effort,” Pitts said. “Landmark legislation like 21st Century Cures illustrates that Congress can and should strive for ambitious goals. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their hard work to modernize our discovery, development and delivery system, which will give hope to millions of Americans for an accelerated path to cures.”
Pallone added that the legislation would allow critical funding for the nation’s top research institutions to bolster biomedical research, advance cutting edge science and continue to improve the process of discovery and approval for life-saving cures.
“Today’s vote is an important step toward improving the health and lives of millions of Americans,” Pallone said.