Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson praised House passage of the 21^st Century Cures Act which would fund vital biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as important funding and policy provisions related to drug approval, mental health, and opioid abuse prevention. The 21^st Century Cures Act passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 392-26.

“Having previously supported many of the provisions in the bill we passed today, I was thrilled to see all of them incorporated into a package that will likely be signed into law,” said Simpson. “I have been a longtime supporter of NIH funding, but this legislation goes a step further to improve mental health treatments, opioid abuse, and the drug approval process which will safely and efficiently get lifesaving drugs to the patients that need them.”

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Provide $4.8 billion over 10 years to NIH for many cutting edge research initiatives;

• Provide $500 million to the Food and Drug Administration over 10 years to advance new drug approval and medical devices for patients;

• Provide $1 billion over 2 years for grants to states to supplement opioid abuse prevention efforts;

• Provide offsets to ensure the legislation is paid for on a year to year basis. 

The bill also includes provisions to improve the nation’s mental health treatment system that would reauthorize important programs and grants to improve access to mental health treatment. Congressman Simpson was a cosponsor of this legislation and supported the bill when it passed the House in July.

The legislation is expected to be considered by the Senate and signed by the President before the end of the 114^th Congress.