Bilirakis: “21st Century Cures is about the patients”

Major legislation supporting medical research for finding new treatments and cures for deadly diseases now signed into law

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A major bipartisan medical research bill, the 21st Century Cures Act, has been signed into law today by the President. U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12), a strong supporter of 21st Century Cures, worked with local patients, doctors, and advocates from Florida to ensure their input is reflected in the final version of the legislation.

“The 21st Century Cures Act has been three years in the making, and I am so proud that it is now finally law,” said Bilirakis. “This legislation will have an incredible impact on millions of Americans who are affected by deadly diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, ALS, and others. I especially want to thank all of the people in Florida who attended my roundtable discussions on boosting the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and cures. 21st Century Cures is about the patients, and their voices are certainly heard in this bill.”

Overall, the 21st Century Cures Act provides the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a fully offset $4.8 billion to help advance the Precision Medicine Initiative, bolster the “Cancer Moonshot,” and invest in the BRAIN initiative.

See below for a list of key provisions in 21st Century Cures that were introduced or cosponsored by Bilirakis, or visit Bilirakis’ website here for a full list:
 

• Section 2061 – National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System. Bilirakis was a lead cosponsor on this provision to create a national data collection system for neurological diseases, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, which would help develop better treatments.
   
• Section 3013 – Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis. This provision, also cosponsored by Bilirakis, would reform the nation’s mental health system by improving federal mental health programs and expanding access to treatment.
   
• Section 3088 – Clarifying Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization. Bilirakis worked closely on this provision to allow the FDA to allow the emergency use of animal drug products to fight public health emergencies such as Zika or new strains of animal-based pandemic flu.

Please click here for more details on Bilirakis’ roundtable discussions in Florida, and here to learn more about Cures.