White House opposes key parts of 21st Century Cures Act

A White House statement released Wednesday applauds the goals of the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6) but criticizes the ways it seeks to achieve them. The statement says the White House "administration looks forward to working with the Congress on continuing to improve the bill as it moves forward."

The White House said that while it "welcomes the additional support for biomedical research and innovation included in H.R. 6, the Administration has concerns about providing additional funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and FDA without addressing sequestration more broadly." It added that the "new responsibilities for FDA outlined in H.R. 6 exceed the resources provided in the bill and the President's FY 2016 Budget and as such, FDA will be unable to fully implement the programs established in the bill, while maintaining its current performance levels." ...