Elizabeth Warren: “I come to the floor today to announce the introduction of the Medical Innovation Act, which is a commonsense proposal…”

“I come to the floor today to announce the introduction of the Medical Innovation Act, which is a commonsense proposal that could dramatically increase our Nation's investment in lifesaving medical research. During much of the 20th century, America made significant investments in this area through the National Institutes of Health, and it has been a remarkable success. We have transformed medicine across America and around the world. NIH support helps train each new generation of scientists and develop each new generation of medicine. NIH-supported discoveries often get picked up by small, creative, nimble biotechnology companies, which in turn get picked up by large pharmaceutical companies, which in turn sometimes result in wildly successful blockbuster drugs. Each of these blockbuster drugs brings in more than $1 billion a year for the drug companies, and each one transforms lives. Nearly everyone in Congress supports increased funding for NIH, but for 10 years the NIH budget hasn't even kept up with the pace of inflation. Why? Because nobody wants to step up and find a way to pay for it. It is time to break the stalemate. The Medical Innovation Act would increase NIH funding without raising taxes and without stealing support from other critical programs.…”