Committee passes Barr’s bill on cardiovascular research

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Nov. 17 passed bipartisan legislation championed by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) to make critical investments in research for valvular heart disease. The bill now heads to the full chamber for consideration.

“I am grateful to Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, and Congressman Brett Guthrie, for pushing this legislation through the Committee,” Rep. Barr said. “It is time to move this bill across the finish line and save lives.”  

The Cardiovascular Advances in Research and Opportunities Legacy (CAROL) Act, H.R. 1193, which Rep. Barr sponsored in February, would expand research on valvular heart disease and its treatment by authorizing the National Institutes of Health to consult with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to conduct or support research on the disease, according to the congressional record bill summary.

Additionally, H.R. 1193 would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop best practices to treat valvular heart disease and to carry out other projects to increase awareness of and reduce deaths from the disease, the summary says.

H.R. 1193, which currently has 178 cosponsors, is named in honor of Rep. Barr’s late-wife Eleanor “Carol” Leavell Barr, 39, who died in June 2020. 

“Carol’s life was dedicated to serving her community and country,” said Rep. Barr. “This legislation that honors her extraordinary life and legacy will invest in the critical research needed to prevent the tragedy that impacted our family from happening to others.”

If enacted, H.R. 1193 also would convene a workshop of subject matter experts to identify research needs and opportunities to develop prescriptive guidelines for treatment of patients with mitral valve prolapse, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Barr’s office.

A related bill, the same-named S. 1133, was introduced in April by U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and is under consideration in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.