The emergence of a deadly new superbug in the U.S. should spur the Senate to vote on legislation to create new antibiotics, a leading Democrat said Tuesday.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., led off a hearing on superbugs in the House Energy & Commerce Committee by pushing for the Senate to approve a package of biomedical research. “Maybe this urgent issue can be used to help enact this important law,” she said.