Heidi Alexander: “the second subject I came here to talk about is the 21st Century Cures Act and the mental health legislation, both of…”

“the second subject I came here to talk about is the 21st Century Cures Act and the mental health legislation, both of which are being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. There will be a vote on that legislation this afternoon at about 5:30. This is legislation that has the strong support of the President of the United States, the active support of the Vice President of the United States. House Speaker Ryan has said that it is an important part of his agenda for health care for the future, and the majority leader, Senator McConnell, has said he believes it is the most important piece of legislation Congress could enact this year. One reason it has been successful is that it has been so bipartisan in its making, both in the House and in the Senate. Let me begin by thanking President Obama and Vice President Biden for their strong support and their interest. The President supports precision medicine--the idea of personalized medicine. For example, if the Senator from Pennsylvania and I each have the same disease, we might not take exactly the same medicine because our genetics might be different. We now know enough about it that if we can help doctors have that information, they can prescribe medicines that will help us live longer. The President and the executive office of the President have issued a Statement of Administration Policy that is one of the strongest I have seen.…”