{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=34CF32D5-3E48-4891-B3CD-B716C35A0F59", "Senator Roberts Applauds Passage of Major Medical Innovation Legislation", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Pat Roberts", "R000307", "www.roberts.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), today praised Senate passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, bipartisan legislation to spur medical innovation and improve treatments available to patients. The legislation contains several provisions championed by Roberts.\r\n\u201cThe Twenty-First Century Cures Act is a true victory for every patient and our health care system,\u201d said Roberts. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation includes countless benefits for Kansans, giving healthcare providers new tools and drugs to heal and give hope to individuals \u2013 and reduce the time it takes to get treatments from the research bench directly to patients.\u201d\r\n\u00a0Roberts spoke on the Senate floor to highlight many of the provisions he fought for including:\r\n \r\nIncreased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)\r\nIncreased funding for cancer research, which also benefits the University of Kansas\u2019s Cancer Center\r\nIncreased transparency for the review and approval of medical devices\r\nIncreased certainty for the review of combination products at FDA \u2013 therapies that do not fit neatly into simply a drug or a device\r\nImportant reforms to our mental health system \u2013 which Roberts supported in committee as part of S. 2680\r\nA five-year extension of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration\r\nDurable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Payment Extension\u00a0\r\n \r\nTo view his remarks, click here.\r\nRoberts continued, \u201cThis legislation sets priorities in research \u2013 cancer, precision medicine, regenerative medicine and heartbreaking diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s through the BRAIN initiative \u2013 we all know someone affected. It also makes some significant changes in how these therapies are evaluated, hopefully approved, and delivered to patients which will improve the lives of all.\u201d\u00a0\r\nThe bill passed the Senate by a vote of 94-5 and now heads to the president\u2019s desk for signature.\u00a0\r\nBelow is the full text of Senator Roberts\u2019 remarks as prepared:\u00a0\r\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Today, we have before us a legislative package that reflects two years of work for the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. When we first embarked on this process, the goal was to find ways to spur innovation and reduce the time it takes new therapies and treatments to get from the research bench, to the bedside for patients.\r\n\u00a0The Twenty-First Century Cures Act includes some true bipartisan victories for patients and our health care system.\u00a0\r\nThroughout my time in Congress, I have been a consistent supporter of funding for the National Institutes of Health, NIH, to fulfill our commitment to prioritizing biomedical research and innovation. NIH research returns priceless benefits to Kansans, giving healthcare providers new tools and drugs to heal and give hope to individuals.\r\nKansans back home have reaped the benefits of this research investment directly. Back in 2012, the University of Kansas Cancer Center received National Cancer Institute \u2013 or NCI \u2013 designation.\u00a0 These centers are major players in research and development for cancer treatment and prevention.\r\nThe legislation we will be voting on this week commits an additional $1.8 billion for Vice President Biden\u2019s \u201ccancer moonshot\u201d.\u00a0 This will not only help KU, as they continue their push toward Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, but all Americans who stand to benefit as we work to win this fight against cancer.\r\nIn addition to research funding, the bill includes some provisions I championed to improve and increase transparency in the review and approval process for medical devices.\u00a0 Specifically, the bill:\r\n \r\nEncourages the FDA to accept international consensus standards to provide more predictability for innovators;\r\nIt makes improvements to the Advisory Committee selection process in an effort to provide more transparency;\r\nAnd it provides a technical correction to finally establish a process by which FDA may remove certain products from the Class 1 device reserve list if they think premarket review is no longer necessary to prove reasonable assurances of safety and effectiveness.\r\n \r\nThe bill also seeks to provide more certainty for the review of combination products \u2013 therapies that do not fit neatly into simply a drug or a device - at the FDA, something I joined Senators Isakson and Casey on.\r\nThe legislation also includes important reforms to our mental health system, based largely on a bill the HELP Committee passed earlier this year.\u00a0\r\nWithin this section of the bill, we seek to:\r\n \r\nClarify and improve our mental health parity laws;\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n \r\nReauthorize the substance abuse and mental health block grants;\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n \r\nPromote evidence-based practices to ensure we are utilizing our scarce resources on programs that work, and not continuing to fund what doesn\u2019t work;\r\n \r\n\u00a0\r\n \r\nAnd reauthorize the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act for suicide prevention and intervention and the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative.\r\n \r\nWhile there is still much more to be done to address the deficiencies in our current system, this bill is a step in the right direction towards improving access to mental health services and eliminating the stigma of seeking treatment.\r\nFinally, the Twenty-First Century Cures Act includes numerous priorities that my colleagues on the Finance Committee have been working on for several years as well.\r\nOne provision I was proud to support in Committee extends the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program for another five years.\u00a0\r\nAs our rural hospitals continue to try and make ends meets, this program helps \u201ctweener\u201d hospitals \u2013 those that don\u2019t qualify as critical access but wouldn\u2019t survive under the current Medicare payment system \u2013 stay afloat. It is a critical program that benefits Kansans in Junction City, Ulysses and Fort Scott by keeping their hospital, and access to care, open.\r\nAnother provision I have championed along with Senators Thune and Crapo has been to protect rural access to durable medical equipment under the competitive bidding program.\u00a0 While we would have liked to see a more permanent solution here, this bill delays applying competitively bid prices in rural areas and requires the Department of Health and Human Services take into account stakeholder input as well as average travel distance, volume of items and services furnished and the number of suppliers in these areas when determining adjustments in bid prices.\u00a0\r\nThere\u2019s no question that we have many challenges ahead to improve our health care system. And while this package may not be a silver bullet to ensure cures for all that ails us, it sets priorities in research \u2013 cancer, precision medicine, regenerative medicine and diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s through the BRAIN initiative. It also makes some significant changes in how these therapies are evaluated, hopefully approved, and delivered to patients which will improve the lives of all.\r\nI urge my colleagues to support this bill.\r\n\u00a0\r\n# # #", 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://www.roberts.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=34CF32D5-3E48-4891-B3CD-B716C35A0F59"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8851040620356798, "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"}