There are 10,000 known diseases, but cures and treatments exist for only 500 of them.  We can all agree that America must bring our health care research system into the 21st Century and continue our world leadership in medical innovation and research.

Today, it takes 15 years for a new drug to move from the laboratory to the local pharmacy. H.R. 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, which passed the House on July 10, 2015 with my support, modernizes clinical trials to expedite the development of new drugs and medical devices, removes regulatory uncertainty in the development of new medical applications, and breaks down barriers to facilitate increased research collaboration. In addition, the measure provides new incentives for the development of drugs for rare diseases. 

The Cures Initiative creates an "Innovation fund" for the NIH of $1.75 billion per year for 5 years. This legislation was signed into law on December 13, 2016.