President Obama urged the Senate, including Democrats who are on the fence, to support the 21st Century Cures Act when it votes on the bill next week. Obama touted the positive effects of such legislation in his weekly address on Saturday in a last-minute move to rally support for a $6.3 billion medical research package that would “do a lot of good things at once.”
“Right now we have the chance to put our best minds to work one more time — and in a big way. There’s a bill in Congress that could help unlock cures Alzheimer’s, end cancer as we know it and help people seeking treatment for opioid addiction finally get the help they need,” Obama said. “It’s an opportunity to save lives, and an opportunity we just can’t miss.”
The Cures Act would require healthcare plans purchased through Obamacare to include coverage for treatment to drug addictions, provide significant funding to researchers studying brain disorders and treatments, and roll out new programs to combat suicide. The bill also includes stipulations to ensure the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reaches out to consumers for their input as the government develops new medicines.
Obama thanked the Republican-controlled House for passing the bill on Wednesday and asked the GOP-led Senate to follow in those same footsteps.
“I’ll sign it as soon as it reaches my desk because like a lot of you, I’ve lost people I love to cancer,” Obama said. “I hear every day from Americans whose loved ones are suffering from addiction and other debilitating diseases. And I believe we should seize every chance we have to find cures as soon as possible. When it’s your family, hope can’t come soon enough.”
Two progressive lawmakers opposed to the Cures Act are Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. They have called the bill a handout to the pharmaceutical industry, while others are concerned it would give drugmakers excessive freedom, allowing them to market unregulated or unapproved drugs.
The Senate has until Dec. 19 to pass the bill as well as a funding bill for 2017. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander said he expects a “successful vote” next week.
