Across Oklahoma and the rest of the country, medical innovation has lagged over the past few decades. Last week, Congress came together to pass legislation to reverse that trend. With the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, the medical field will receive a major shot in the arm.
First and foremost, this bill will save lives. It speeds up production of life-saving drugs to fight diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and a number of other rare diseases. It removes bureaucracy within the Food and Drug Administration to help speed up the production of medications that thousands of Americans are waiting for to survive. It also boosts funds to the National Institutes of Health to ensure America continues to lead the world in medial innovation. All of these funds are matches with dollar-for-dollar cuts and increases in revenue.
21st Century Cures tackles another major issue facing Oklahomans: mental health. The package includes Rep. Tim Murphy’s H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act. I was a cosponsor of the original version of this bill, and I voted in support of it in the House earlier this year. It will improve the availability of mental healthcare and authorizes grants to prevent adult suicide in tribal communities across the country. These tribal communities often exist in very rural communities and not only lack resources because they are rural, but lack resources because of inequities in the Indian Health Service. Sadly, suicide rates are disproportionately higher among American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Much needed assistance is also included to fight the growing opioid epidemic. Our district contains two of the top five counties in the state for unintentional painkiller overdoses. This bill provides a funding path for everything from treatment to criminal justice reform, to overdose reversal and recovery. Another major win for Oklahoma, this bill provides a path for funding for the opioid bills that we passed earlier in the year, like an amendment we wrote that makes sure that the Attorney General takes into account the needs of Native American and rural communities when awarding grants to combat opioid addiction.
Overall, this bill delivers major wins for rural America. It will help make sure that small town hospitals and clinics can keep their doors open for business. It ensures that even though someone lives outside of the city limits, they can still get access to the medical equipment they need, like oxygen and CPAP machines. I am proud to have supported this bill, and I look forward to working on other ways to improve the access to medical care for eastern Oklahoma.
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