[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H3399-H3400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         21ST CENTURY CURES ACT

  (Mrs. BLACKBURN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the 21st 
Century Cures Act. This is legislation that we, at the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, are working on in a bipartisan basis, and we look 
forward to moving it to the House floor and seeing this passed and 
signed into law. Why are we doing it? Because we want to put the focus 
on cures, real cures that will enable people to live better lives.
  Let's take just one disease, Alzheimer's. There are 5 million 
Americans that currently have Alzheimer's. The cost to the Nation is 
$215 billion a year. When you look out several decades to 2050, the 
cost is estimated to be

[[Page H3400]]

$1 trillion a year for one disease. Yes, we need to focus on finding 
cures.
  And there are other disorders and diseases that need that attention. 
Take autism, diabetes, ALS, cancer, the list moves on.
  It is time for us to encourage and support young scientists, to put 
the focus on our most challenging health conditions, and we want the 
regulatory agencies to be there to encourage this effort, and I 
encourage support for the 21st Century Cures Act.

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