21st Century Cures Heads to the President’s Desk

The House passed 21st Century Cures. 

The Senate passed 21st Century Cures. 

Up Next: The President’s Desk!

After two overwhelmingly bipartisan votes, 21st Century Cures is headed to the President’s desk.

The excitement felt by the People’s House is palpable. As Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) says, “After three years, our legislative work is finally complete. 21st Century Cures is ready for the president. With this innovation game-changer, a new day for medical research is on the horizon…We all have more reason for hope.”

And Chairman Upton isn’t the only one excited about the possibilities that come with Cures:

• Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) recently penned an op-ed published online for  The Hill outlining why we are so proud of Cures and what it can do for the American people:Brooks says 21st Century Cures is a real plan to “encourage scientific collaboration to find cures fast and ensure that once these life-saving treatments are discovered, there is a modern, streamlined process for developing them and delivering them to patients, like the more than 37 million people diagnosed with cancer, Alzheimer’s and other rare diseases.”
• Rep. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN), whose experience as a doctor led him to support Cures, writes, “As a physician, I treated patients for more than 30 years. …During that time, a majority of the children with cancer I treated as a young medical student died because of their disease. Today, almost 90 percent of those children live because of advances we’ve made in scientific research to treat and cure diseases. But we have more work to do. I’ve experienced first-hand what a devastating, incurable disease can do to a family. There are 10,000 known conditions and diseases, and we only have cures and treatments for 500 of them. Chances are, all of us know and love someone who has been diagnosed with an incurable, untreatable illness.”
• One of the key provisions of Cures was the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which addresses mental health concerns.Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), a staunch advocate for the mental health components of Cures, went on New Day to celebrate passage. Here, he explains why intervention, strategic programs, and solid funding are key to helping people facing life with mental illnesses.
• "There is no shortage of people who would benefit from 21st Century Cures,” says Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). “Our goal is not to provide life-long treatment, but to find life-saving cures. This historic, bipartisan legislation is a sign to the American people that we’ve embraced the moonshot. We’re proving to the 14 million cancer patients, the 25 million adults with chronic pain, and the 5 million with Alzheimer’s in the United States that we won’t accept wishful thinking or ‘maybe next year’ anymore. Because for the parents, siblings, and children facing a disease without a cure, there isn’t time for maybes.”

As 21st Century Cures heads to the president’s desk, we invite you to follow along on gop.gov. Tomorrow, Chairman Upton will deliver the Weekly Republican Address — here’s a sneak peek from this   leading force behind 21st Century Cures, “Patients needed an innovation game-changer, and we have it with 21st Century Cures. The landmark legislation will accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of safe new cures and treatments. For families across the country, this legislation to help deliver #CuresNow marks a renewed dawn of hope.” Since the beginning, Chairman Upton listened and advocated for patients and researchers and their stories.

Watch the Weekly Republican Address tomorrow, December 10, by visiting House Republicans on Facebook.