Published on July 10, 2015
Updated on November 21, 2017
Earlier today the House of Representatives passed H.R.6, the 21st Century Cures Act by a vote of 344-77, with only 70 Republicans voting against the bill. The legislation would provide an additional $9.3 billion in mandatory funding over the next five years to fund the National Institutes of Health and establish a Cures Innovation Fund to support work toward breakthroughs in biomedical research. It also provides $550 million in added funding to the Food and Drug Administration over the same period.
The vote occurred after the defeat of an amendment offered by Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA), which would have effectively gutted the bill by making the funding discretionary rather than mandatory.
“The increased mandatory funding for the NIH drives home the importance of funding for medical research, including funding for cancer prevention and early detection. Our hope is that the legislation will update and streamline the approval process so more lives can be saved,” said Carolyn Aldigé, President and Founder of Prevent Cancer Foundation.
The bill will be taken up by the Senate in the fall.
