Skip to content
News and updates

Category: Biomedical Research

21st Century Cures Proposes Funding Increase for NIH

Posted on

The latest version of the 21st Century Cures Act was released this morning and the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is scheduled to markup the measure on Thursday, May 14th. Like the discussion draft, the updated version provides for an increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both through reauthorization and $10 billion over five years in mandatory funding, starting in FY 2016.

Meanwhile, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), a member of the Senate HELP Committee, said Tuesday the chamber would draft its own biomedical innovation bill rather than picking up the House’s 21st Century Cures Act. HELP Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said the committee had a goal to get a bill on the floor by early next year but many think that is an overly ambitious timeframe.

21st Century Cures Draft Provides $10 Billion Increase for NIH

Posted on

Bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have released a discussion draft marking continued progress in the 21st Century Cures Initiative. The discussion draft is the product of months of bipartisan negotiations and bipartisan staff continues working toward finalized legislation.

The biggest and best provision included in the draft provides for an increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both through reauthorization and $10 billion over five years in mandatory funding, starting in FY 2016.

 The discussion draft also includes provisions to:

  • Incorporate the patient perspective in the discovery, development, and delivery process.
  • Foster development of treatments for patients facing serious or life-threatening diseases.
  • Repurpose drugs for serious or life-threatening diseases and conditions.
  • Modernize clinical trials.
  • Break down barriers to increased collaboration and data sharing among patients, researchers, providers, and innovators.
  • Help the development of personalized and precision medicines so the right patient can receive the right treatment at the right time.
  • Provide for continued work in the telehealth space.
  • Advance a truly interoperable health care system.
  • Provide clarity for developers of software products used in health management and medical care.

A complete section-by-section summary of the discussion draft is available online here and a one-page summary is available online here.

America COMPETES Reauthorizations Revealed

Posted on

The House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson have released dueling draft bills to reauthorize America COMPETES. The House will begin to work through their differences on these pieces of legislation in the coming months.

Here is the House Democrat’s reauthorization discussion draft bill.

The Committee Republicans have decided to consider COMPETES reauthorization in two smaller bills.  The two bills are the EINSTEIN (Enabling Innovation for Science, Technology and Energy in America) Act which encompasses the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science parts of COMPETES and the FIRST (Frontier in Innovative Research, Science, and Technology) Act which includes reauthorization for the NSF, NIST, OSTP, and STEM education components of COMPETES. Here is a summary of the discussion draft of the EINSTEIN Act. Here is a summary of the House Republicans discussion draft of the FIRST Act.  The full draft will be posted when available.

Continue reading “America COMPETES Reauthorizations Revealed”

House Science Chair: Science vs. Entitlements

Posted on

House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-TX, published an op-ed in Politico today. In it, he asserts that federal budget is so taken up with entitlements that the nation’s investment in science is suffering and will continue to suffer as a result. Further, Chairman Smith argues that entitlement reform means more funding for basic science and R&D.

Read the full op-ed here.