Blackburn Applauds House Passage of the 21st Century Cures Act

Press Release

Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today issued the following statement on House passage of H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act, legislation that encourages healthcare innovation and improves the lives of all Americans.

"America has been at her best when facing great challenges. Some of our greatest challenges today are in the area of healthcare. With over 10,000 known diseases, only 500 have cures. We need to embrace a national vision of improving lives, and of course, saving money, through a Cures Strategy. Our Cures Strategy provides hope for parents who have children with autism, for mothers and sisters who have breast cancer, for the senior who has a family history of Alzheimer's disease, and for many others," Blackburn said.

This landmark legislation will help advance the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and cures for patients and foster private sector innovation in the United States by providing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) with additional funding. The bill, reported 51-0 by the Energy and Commerce Committee, also advances conservative fiscal and regulatory reforms. The bill will lower the federal deficit by 1/2 billion dollars and save billions in additional entitlement reforms.

The 21st Century Cures legislation includes language Congressman Blackburn authored with Representative Gene Green (R-TX) -- the Sensible Oversight for Technology which Advances Regulatory Efficiency (SOFTWARE) Act as well as language Congressman Blackburn authored with Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) -- the Children Count Act.

"Getting bureaucracy out of the way and allowing innovation is the goal of the SOFTWARE Act. The SOFTWARE Act will codify the manner in which the FDA approaches health IT -- including the wonderful apps that we all use to keep us healthy. Data is not a drug or device and it makes no sense to regulate it as such. However obvious that is, it hasn't stopped the FDA from trying to make medical device law fit health IT. We need to modernize the FDA authorities to reflect the new technology that is health IT. The SOFTWARE Act, as included in the 21st Century Cures Act, is an important first step in our efforts to modernize the FDA," Blackburn said.

The Children Count Act would direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure children are appropriately considered for NIH-funded studies.

"Research is crucial to finding cures and we must ensure our children receive the benefit of these studies," Blackburn said. "The children of today represent the future of tomorrow. By improving their lives through this legislation, they'll have the best opportunity to grow up strong and healthy."

It is our generation's time to lead. This Cures Strategy is vital to that effort.

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