{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dent.house.gov/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=D6709D5E-98C6-4BD1-B8AA-E50739343D33", "Congressman Dent Cheers Passage of 21st Century Cures Legislation", "2016-11-30", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Charlie Dent", "D000604", "dent.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "(Washington, D.C.) Representative Charlie Dent (PA-15) cheered the passage of key health and science legislation in the House today.\r\n\u201cThe 21st Century Cures legislation represents a giant step forward to providing true medical hope to the American people for cures to some of the worst diseases we face,\u201d said Representative Dent. \u201cIt\u2019s aptly named because it brings 21st Century technology and methodology coupled with commonsense regulations to bear on killers like cancer, Alzheimer\u2019s and Parkinson\u2019s,\u201d he noted.  \r\nThe 21st Century Cures Legislation includes:\r\n $4.8 billion in new funding for the National Institute of Health \u2013  \r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- makes a $1.5 billion investment in the Precision Medicine Initiative\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- bolsters the \u201cCancer Moonshot\u201d initiative by $1.8  billion;\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- provides additional investments in the BRAIN initiative  to increase our understanding of neurological diseases.\r\n The legislation focuses on a sensible regulatory model that will bring cures to patients in safer, faster fashion by: \r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- modernizing clinical trials with an emphasis placed on improving the means by which safety and efficacy information is collected, analyzed and shared;\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- putting patients and their needs to the forefront in the regulatory review process;\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- encouraging a working relationship between the regulators and medical innovators to help them in bringing 21st Century Cures to patients;\r\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-- incentivizing the development of drugs to help cure and treat pediatric diseases.\r\nDent also praised the inclusion of comprehensive mental health reforms passed in July as part of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform bill authored by Rep. Tim Murphy (PA-18).\u00a0\r\n\u201cOne of the most common requests I hear from families and caregivers who are doing their utmost to help a child or family member with a mental health condition is the need for them to have a greater say in the care of their child or loved one. This bill will finally help parents by allowing them greater access to work with doctors and mental health professionals in the treatment of their loved ones,\u201d said Dent.\r\nActions relating to mental health in the legislation include creating a new Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use along with providing for increased communication, unbarred by HIPPA, to allow mental health patients, their families, and care providers to communicate more freely in the effort to increase positive outcomes for all involved.\r\n\u201cAs a whole, the 21st Century Cures Act is the shot in the arm that our medical innovators and regulators need so they can focus on the most important individuals in our health system \u2013 the patients,\u201d concluded Congressman Dent.\r\n______________________________________________________________________\r\nCONTACT: Shawn Millan (610) 770-3490", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dent.house.gov/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=D6709D5E-98C6-4BD1-B8AA-E50739343D33"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5227911062538624, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}