21st Century Cures Act unlikely to move until after election
Legislation aiming to speed up the regulatory approval process for medical devices and drugs and boost research funding will have to wait until after Election Day.
The 21st Century Cures Act, sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Michigan, passed the House more than a year ago, and the Senate’s piecemeal version of the legislation had already been delayed once in 2016, when Congress took an unusually long seven-week break for most of summer.
According to The Hill, Upton feels there isn’t enough time to settle the differences between the two chambers’ versions in the short September session.
“Knowing that the Senate is likely to file their (continuing resolution) next week…and say see ya in November, it’s darn near impossible to get a bill through both the House and the Senate [before Congress breaks],” Upton said.
Asked if the legislation could be passed before the current Congress ends, Upton replied: “Oh yeah.”
To accomplish that, several disagreements between the House and Senate, as well as Republicans and Democrats, will have to be settled. For example, the House bill provided an additional $9.3 billion in funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over five years, which would be less annually than the regular appropriations process provided last year, when NIH received $2 billion in additional funds.
For more on the Senate’s timeline for passing its version of the legislation, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.