{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/weekly-republican-address-21st-century-cures-we-will-do-better", "Weekly Republican Address: With 21st Century Cures, We Will Do Better", "2016-12-09", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Paul Ryan", "R000570", "www.speaker.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON\u2014In this week\u2019s Republican address, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) discusses #CuresNow\u2014legislation signed by Speaker Ryan this week to bring medical research and innovation into the 21st century.\n\u201cThe House and Senate have passed this bipartisan legislation which will ensure our health system can keep pace with incredible advances in science and technology,\u201d said Chairman Upton. He continued, \u201cA new day for medical research is on the horizon. A new day of hope for patients and their loved ones. We needed to do better. And with 21st Century Cures, we will.\u201d\n\tNOTE: The audio of the weekly is address is available here, and the video will be available on speaker.gov.\nRemarks of Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan  Weekly Republican Address  Washington, DC  December 10, 2016\nHey there, I\u2019m Fred Upton, Republican Congressman from Southwest Michigan who helped lead the successful, bipartisan effort to find faster cures for families and patients suffering from tragic illness.\nThe holiday season is one of joy. But, it\u2019s often a time for families to come together and reflect on loved ones lost\u2014taken much too soon by disease.\nWe\u2019ve all said too many early good-byes to folks that we hold dear. Families robbed of a parent that will never get to see their kids\u2019 milestones. A child born without the gift of a future. Every day, countless folks living vibrant lives are delivered unexpected diagnoses. It\u2019s a cycle that repeats itself over and over and over. Life changes in an instant\u2014and hope seems just out of reach. Whether it be Alzheimer\u2019s, Lupus, MS, cancer\u2026 you name it.\nSo, three years ago, we had an idea. That we could do better. That we needed to do something and transform our health and research system to effectively fight disease in the 21st century.\nBut we knew the first step had to be doing something that Congress doesn\u2019t do enough of: We had to first listen. And then we engaged. We solicited input. We drafted. We listened some more. It was an inclusive, unique, transparent process that criss-crossed the country, engaging experts in every related field, from pioneering research institutions like the University of Michigan and the Mayo Clinic to government to private industry and everything in between. And most importantly, we listened to patients.\nWhat we learned was staggering. The gap between biomedical innovation and our regulatory process was widening. Of the 10,000 known diseases\u20147,000 of which are rare\u2014there are treatments for only 500. We needed to change the conversation and restore urgency to boosting research and innovation. And working together, we have with 21st\u00a0Century Cures.\nScience and biomedical innovation have made incredible strides over the last two decades. Mapping the human genome, new biomarkers, and personal health care apps have all offered opportunities to find new treatments and cures.\nBut the way the FDA and the NIH apply these new innovations to our regulatory process has lagged behind. These agencies\u2014and the rules and regs that they produce affecting the discovery, development, and delivery of lifesaving drugs and devices\u2014also desperately need modernization and innovation. They need a game-changer. And now we have it.\nThe House and Senate have passed this bipartisan legislation which will ensure our health system can keep pace with incredible advances in science and technology. We break down regulatory barriers and expedite the approvals for safe drugs and devices coupled with billions for more research, including the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot. We also provide critical funding to the FDA so that they have all the tools they need to ensure the safety of these news drugs and devices.\nA former head of The National Cancer Institute and FDA has called this \u201cthe most transformational biomedical legislation in the past 40 years.\u201d He\u2019s right.\nBut this package is not just about cures. It also includes valuable resources to fight the opioid epidemic that\u2019s impacting every single community, and delivers landmark mental health reforms that will make a real difference, helping families in crisis and treating mental illness rather than incarceration. Treatment, not tragedy was the overriding theme of mental health reform. Yes, this is one of the most important and impactful bills we will enact this Congress.\nPatients aren\u2019t interested in debating the timelines, the failure rates, the size and costs of conducting clinical trials. They just know that despite the promise of scientific breakthroughs, they can\u2019t get the therapy that might save their lives one day. That is why we need 21st Century Cures.\nWe are on the cusp of something special. A once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform how we treat disease. President Obama will sign this legislation into law next week and his help was critical in getting this new law enacted\u2014so we say thank you Mr. President.\nA new day for medical research is on the horizon. A new day of hope for patients and their loved ones. We needed to do better. And with 21st Century Cures, we will. Thank you and have a blessed holiday season.", 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": ["http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/weekly-republican-address-21st-century-cures-we-will-do-better"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.416012179106474, "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"}