Graves Votes to Make Life-Saving Disease Treatments Available to Millions of Americans

Press Release

U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement after voting to pass the 21st Century Cures Act. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 392-26.

"There are 10,000 known diseases, but we only have treatments for 500 of them," Rep Graves said. "The 21st Century Cures Act will give the FDA and the private sector the tools to close this gap, accelerating critical, potentially life-saving therapies for at-risk patients across the country. This bill also includes the most significant reforms to our nation's mental health system in a decade. I'm thrilled that it passed the House, and I look forward to seeing it signed into law in the coming days."

Specifically, 21st Century Cures Act streamlines the review of life-saving drugs, provides money to continue to research cures for diseases, and provides grants for states to supplement opioid abuse prevention and treatment.

By increasing the speed at which cutting edge or experimental drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and increasing fully-offset federal funding for medical research and development, the bill lays the groundwork for medical breakthroughs that will help thousands of Americans suffering from what are currently uncured diseases.

Once this bill is signed into law, the FDA will be able to maintain responsible safety procedures while allowing them to approve those new drugs with minimal obstacles and bureaucracy. A quicker turnaround time from drug development to market availability will allow innovators to develop new and alternative treatments for diseases and drug addictions.

Finally, the bill gives patients the ability to provide their input and experiences to help shape the FDA's regulatory decision-making process. Patients are also empowered to choose to voluntarily provide hospitals and research institutions with their personal health records for future research.

.Any new funding in the 21st Century Cures Act will be fully offset. Discretionary spending will also be subject to annual review in order to maximize accountability for taxpayers.

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