Republicans are gearing up to fight President Obama over his plans to increase spending when he releases the federal budget on Monday, but they see possible bipartisan agreement on his push to combat antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
The White House on Tuesday called for $1.2 billion in funding next fiscal year, doubling its request to address antibiotic resistance, a medical crisis that has alarmed Democrats and Republicans alike.
In a break from most budget debates, some conservatives expressed a willingness to work with the White House on the issue.
“As a doc, I know antibiotic resistance is a serious problem that must be addressed,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told the Washington Examiner. “The administration’s specific proposals will need to be reviewed in the larger context of [National Institutes of Health] funding and global priorities, but I am glad to see antibiotic resistance is a priority for the administration.”
“If there was one area that warrants an increase in government investment, I’d argue that dealing with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is at the top of the list,” added a House Republican lawmaker. “I think we can find common ground with the White House here. I know many of my colleagues would agree with that sentiment.”
A vexing problem in medical circles, antibiotic resistance has become a hot topic in Washington as the United States and other major world powers struggle to contain infections once viewed as routine.
Thanks to the overconsumption of antibiotics, both through personal use and in the nation’s food supply, bacteria have evolved to the point that they resist such medicines.
Health experts say that without a ramp-up in production of new antibiotics and a major change in how consumers rely on them, the death toll will continue to rise.
About half of all antibiotic prescriptions aren’t even needed to treat the ailments in question, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
According to the CDC, drug-resistant bacteria kills 23,000 people in the United States each year and causes 2 million illnesses annually.
Obama would like to devote more than $650 million to NIH and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to create better testing for identifying strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.
The White House also wants $280 million for the CDC to study potential outbreaks and better monitor the overuse of antibiotics.
And Obama says the Food and Drug Administration should receive another $50 million to spur the development of new antibacterial drugs and to lessen the use of antibiotics in the agricultural sector.
The remaining $250 million would be split among the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Veterans Affairs.
But no matter how much money Obama devotes to antibiotic resistance, health experts warned, Washington can’t truly tackle the problem without providing incentives for drug manufacturers to produce new antibiotics.
“We as a country have basically decided that much of the applied research and development of new drugs should take place in the private sector,” said Arthur Reingold, head of epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. “It’s clear the private sector has not really put enough resources into this. The question is, how can additional government spending in this area be most effective?”
Drug manufacturers have shown little interest in developing new antibiotics, keeping their focus on chronic problems such as cholesterol, diabetes and arthritis, which don’t require the same level of expensive testing and provide higher profit margins.
Lawmakers, especially Republicans, have sought to tackle that dilemma by giving drug companies five more years of market exclusivity once the Food and Drug Administration approves their treatments.
But legislative efforts have not gained enough traction to significantly address the problem, critics say.
Obama’s new funding request comes just a few months after he issued an executive order calling for enhanced surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and new ways to increase the effective lifespan of current antibiotics, as well as the development of new treatments by 2020.
Despite their suspicion of the president’s numerous unilateral actions, Republicans did not fight Obama’s executive move on that front.
Democrats say they would like to partner with Republicans to address superbugs in a more comprehensive way.
“To combat antibiotic resistance, it’s important that we leverage the best in medical expertise, stewardship and technological innovation,” Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Tuesday. “This unprecedented proposal underscores the importance of taking a comprehensive, wide-ranging approach to tackle this issue.”
And Republicans are at least committing to listen to the president’s plan.
“We look forward to engaging with the White House on this issue,” a House Republican leadership aide told the Examiner.
