Fleming Votes Against 21 Century Cures Due to Budget Concerns

Statement

Congressman John Fleming, M.D. released the following statement after voting against H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act:

"While the 21st Century Cures Act is long overdue -- we need to make finding cures a priority -- it also comes with some major budgetary concerns. Instead of eliminating wasteful spending, the Cures Act piles on mandatory spending, taking a step backwards from bringing our budget under control.
"My biggest concern is that with the creation of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cures Innovation fund, this legislation makes annual spending mandatory instead of discretionary, bypassing caps on federal expenditures. Critical sections of our government -- including the NIH, Federal Drug Administration (FDA), our nation's defense and homeland security -- are subject to spending cuts under the Budget Control Act. And yet, we are doing nothing to put caps on a new program, which is under an agency with a proven record of wasteful spending. Last year we learned the NIH is spending $3.2 million to get monkeys drunk and study the long-term affects on their body tissue. Surely we could have reallocated resources from this or an equally outrageous program to fund cures for diseases.

"I voted for Rep. Brat's amendment that would have reverted the NIH Innovation Fund back to discretionary spending as it was originally intended. Unfortunately, this amendment failed. As a physician for over 40 years, I understand how vitally important it is to find cures for today's diseases. However, I believe we need to pursue that worthy goal without adding to the deficit or creating a new stream of taxpayer dollars."

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