[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         21ST CENTURY CURES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 9, 2015

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 6) to 
     accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of 21st 
     century cures, and for other purposes:

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Chair, today, I stand in strong support of 
the 21st Century Cures Act. This bipartisan bill gives our nation's 
best and brightest the tools they need to understand--and eventually 
defeat disease--and reauthorizes both the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
   The 21st Century Cures Act has the potential to accelerate the 
discovery of drugs for life-threatening illnesses; repurpose drugs 
found ineffective for one condition and test them on another; promote 
an interoperable health system; enhance telehealth practices; and 
advance the development of more targeted, personalized treatments.
   My district, the 7th Congressional District of Alabama, is home to 
the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Southern Research 
Institute, and the University of Alabama. NIH funding is critical to 
the continuing vitality of these three leading institutions, as well as 
to the region.
   The prospect of this act alone provides hope. Hope that cures can be 
discovered, hope that one day no diagnoses indicate inevitable ailment 
or death, and hope that one day treatments will yield more reward than 
risk.
   Despite the potential of this bill, there are two amendments that 
threaten that hope and essentially aim to inhibit the health of several 
Americans. First, the Hyde Amendment has reared its ugly head yet 
again. It is a harmful and discriminatory bill that prevents women from 
making their own healthcare decisions. Further, it serves as a stark 
contradiction to efforts geared toward providing health positive 
resources for all.
   Second, the Brat amendment aims to convert the federal funding of 
the NIH and the FDA from mandatory to discretionary. Such a transaction 
would stifle the progress both federal agencies have already made and 
will continue to make. It will singlehandedly reverse the trajectory of 
medical progress and halt further research efforts.
   I am particularly supportive of the 21st Century Cures Act because 
of its inclusion of provisions for the pediatric and rare disease 
community. This bill will allow Children's of Alabama, ranked among the 
nation's best children's hospitals for six years in a row, to finally 
be able to participate in a national pediatric research network and 
therefore, save more lives.
   With only 5 percent of rare diseases having an FDA-approved 
treatment, it would be a gross understatement to say our medical 
systems have failed to keep pace. Gabe Griffin from Birmingham and 
Houston Sides from Montgomery are two young Alabama boys who asked me 
to support the 21st Century Cures Act because it modernizes the FDA and 
spurs development of pediatric and rare disease treatments. Gabe and 
Houston have a rare and deadly muscle-wasting disorder called Duchenne 
Muscular Dystrophy. This disease takes the lives of children as young 
as 9 or 10. Very few children with this disease will ever reach the age 
of 25. But the 21st Century Cures Act provides hope for these families. 
It promotes `precision medicine,' modernizes the clinical trial system, 
and expands access to investigational drugs.
   Viruses and diseases will not wait for us to catch up; they will 
mutate, grow ever more virulent, and continue to impact our public 
health. We need to leverage our investments to make potentially game-
changing strides in treatment. We need 21st century solutions for 21st 
century threats.
   An investment in health affects more than our physical well-being, 
and the 21st Century Cares Act reflects this. H.R. 6 is not only a 
health bill; it is a jobs bill. Our country has been the leader in both 
the medical device and biopharmaceutical industry for decades, helping 
us become the core of global medical innovation. This puts a target on 
our backs, as China and other countries have attempted to attempt to 
claim this role and thus, our jobs. U.S. medical device-related 
employment totals over 2 million jobs, and the U.S. biopharmaceutical 
industry is responsible for over 4 million U.S. jobs. NIH funding 
currently supports over 400,000 jobs at research institutions across 
the country, including jobs for young and upcoming scientists. Without 
this funding, our jobs are out there for the taking. Without this 
funding, the thousands of jobs in my district provided by the 
University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Southern Research Institute, 
and the University of Alabama are not safe. The policies in this 
legislation will help us fight off foreign competitors and allow us to 
continue innovating, so we can all protect medical jobs in our 
districts and add more.
   We must get serious about addressing the unmet medical needs of the 
American people. I urge my colleagues not to deprive the American 
people of the cures they deserve. Vote against these poison pill 
amendments because when it comes to the health of our constituents, 
there is no place or time for partisan politics. I urge my colleagues 
to oppose the Brat amendment, support the Lee amendment and I urge them 
to support H.R. 6.

                          ____________________