*Administration of Barack Obama, 2016 *

**The President's Weekly Address **

*December 3, 2016 *

Hi, everybody. On the first day of my administration, I promised to restore science to its rightful place. I told you we would unleash American innovation and technology to tackle the health challenges of our time. Over the last 8 years, we've delivered on that promise in many ways, both big and small, including, of course, providing health coverage to 20 million more Americans and making health care more affordable for all Americans.

Right now we have the chance to put our best minds to work one more time and in a big way. There's a bill in Congress that could help unlock a cure for Alzheimer's, end cancer as we know it, and help people seeking treatment for opioid addiction finally get the help they need. It's called the 21st Century Cures Act. It's an opportunity to save lives and an opportunity we just can't miss.

This bill would do a lot of good things at once. Let me tell you about five of them.

First, it will make real investments this year to combat the heroin and prescription drug epidemic that's plaguing so many of our communities. Drug overdoses now take more lives every year than traffic accidents, and deaths from opioid overdoses have nearly quadrupled since 1999. Under Obamacare, health plans in the marketplace have to include coverage for treatment, but there's more we need to do. For nearly a year, I've been calling for this investment so hundreds of thousands of Americans can get the treatment they need, and I'm glad Congress is finally getting it done.

The second thing the Cures Act does is make a significant investment in Joe Biden's Cancer Moonshot. In my State of the Union Address this year, I set a goal of making America the country that ends cancer once and for all, and I put the Vice President in charge of "mission control." This bill will allow us to invest in promising new therapies, in new ways to detect and prevent cancer, and to develop more vaccines for cancer just as we have them for measles or mumps. Joe's done an incredible job; this bill is a chance for Congress to do its part too.

Third, we'll be giving researchers the resources they need to help identify ways to treat, cure, and prevent all kinds of brain disorders: Alzheimer's, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury. And it also supports the Precision Medicine Initiative, an effort we started to bring doctors and data together to develop treatments and health care that one day can be tailored specifically for you. That can lead to some big breakthroughs.

Fourth, the Cures Act includes bipartisan mental health reforms, including important programs for suicide prevention.

And fifth, we're making sure the FDA incorporates patient voices—your voices—into the decisions they make as they develop drugs.

So that's what the 21st Century Cures Act is all about. Like all good legislation, it reflects compromise. This week, the House passed it overwhelmingly and in bipartisan fashion. The Senate will vote in the next few days, and I hope they'll do the same. I'll sign it as soon as it reaches my desk, because like a lot of you, I've lost people that I love deeply to cancer. I hear every day from Americans whose loved ones are suffering from addiction and other debilitating diseases. And I believe we should seize every chance we have to find cures as soon as possible. When it's your family, hope can't come soon enough.

Thanks, everybody, and have a great weekend.

NOTE: The address was recorded at approximately 4:30 p.m. on December 2 in the Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast on December 3. In the address, the President referred to H.R. 34. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on December 2, but was embargoed for release until 6 a.m. on December 3. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.

*Categories:* Addresses and Remarks : Weekly addresses*.*

*Locations: *Washington, DC.

*Names:* Biden, Joseph R., Jr.

*Subjects:* Diseases : Alzheimer’s disease and brain disorders; Diseases : Cancer research, prevention, and treatment; Drug abuse and trafficking : Addiction treatment and reduction efforts; Food and Drug Administration; Health and medical care : Affordability and costs; Health and medical care : Mental health programs and services; Health and medical care : Precision medicine, strengthening efforts; Legislation, proposed : 21st Century Cures Act; Science and technology : Research and development; White House Office : Vice President.

*DCPD Number:* DCPD201600815.