WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) today welcomed the announcement by Chairman Lamar Alexander that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee had scheduled a series of mark ups on its medical innovation package. Alexander’s news continues the tremendous momentum to deliver #CuresNow, following an overwhelming 344 to 77 House vote in July for the 21st Century Cures Act, the major milestone in December of a $2 billion funding boost for NIH for FY 2016, and last week’s State of the Union address where President Obama announced a “moon shot" initiative to cure cancer.
Upton and DeGette commented, “Momentum to deliver #CuresNow gets stronger by the day. We commend Senator Alexander and the committee for all of their work to boost medical innovation, and look forward to further collaborating in the weeks ahead. The Senate announcement is just the latest positive milestone in the effort to give patients and their loved ones more hope. But we have much work left to do to make 21st Century Cures a reality. The vice president is working on a ‘moon shot’ to cure cancer, and we’ve got a rocket ship ready to go."
