Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. I would just like to say as chairman of the committee that I look forward to working with the gentleman on the language. I think this is an important amendment. I am going to speak in favor of it on Mr. Young's time in a moment. But I just want to pledge that we will work with you on language that certainly we can all accept, knowing that the goal is a very good one.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I do rise in support of this important amendment that, with Mr. Young and Dr. Harris, would authorize the NIH to conduct a prize program. The intent of the amendment is, in fact, to incentivize health innovation by offering competitors the chance to win a prize for developing breakthroughs. We ought to be encouraging that. Importantly, individuals who win the prize competition would keep all of the intellectual property rights. I think that is very important. So I would ask my colleagues to support the amendment. I look forward to working with both sides of the aisle to make sure that we can, in fact, perfect it as we get to the end of the cycle and, ultimately, to the President's desk.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. UPTON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the chairman of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the vice chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chairman, let me just say to the gentleman from California, it is paid for. CBO has certified that all of it is paid for. Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), a member of the committee.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green), the ranking member on the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, we support this amendment. I think that it is important. It would include underrepresented individuals in the sciences in the NIH report on efforts to attract, retain, and develop emerging scientists. It is important to ensure that the NIH is indeed focused on including all qualified individuals dedicated to finding cures. I know no one that is opposed to this amendment. We support it. I appreciate your hard work on this and look forward to having it be part of the process as it moves forward. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), my friend and the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. UPTON. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), a member of the Appropriations Committee and a very valuable member as we put this package together.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I include the Committee on Energy and Commerce exchange of letters with the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Washington, DC, July 9, 2015. Hon. Fred Upton, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 6, the ``21st Century Cures Act,'' which your Committee ordered reported on May 21, 2015. H.R. 6 contains provisions within the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will not seek a sequential referral. This is being done on the basis of our mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and would request that you include a copy of this letter and your response in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Lamar Smith, Chairman.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Ellmers), a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the vice chair of the full committee, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Long).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. McKinley).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon), a member of the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, as we all know, we launched this bipartisan effort about a year and a half ago, and with tomorrow's House vote, we mark a very important milestone in our quest for 21st century cures, one step closer to the finish line. There have been so many individuals throughout our 18-month journey who have helped us get to where we are today: patients across the country, advocates, researchers, innovators, experts, academics, regulators, some of the Nation's brightest minds, even Nobel Prize winners. To all, we say thank you. Thank you, too, to the hard-working staff, again, on both sides of the aisle, who took the meetings, who did the research, who drafted the language, and who sat at the negotiating table for countless hours to help us develop this incredible product: Gary, Joan, Alexa, Clay, Paul, Josh, Robert, John, Carly, Katie, Adrianna, Graham, Sean, Noelle, Macey, Mark, Tom, Bits, Marty, Tim, Jeff, and Tiffany. And to the Democratic staff, the staff of our Members, thank you all. Thanks to the House legislative counsel and the CBO for your efforts and dedication in working through many, many weekends. Thank you to the Members of both parties, who really did bring their best ideas, who partnered with one another to make their cases, and who delivered so many of the policies that we welcome today because we listened. I also want to thank Chairman Hal Rogers and his staff. The Appropriations Committee has been a critical partner in this effort for the last number of months, working with us and developing the right approach to achieve our shared goal of helping patients in a fiscally responsible way. I especially want to highlight my partner, Diana DeGette, in her effort from day one. She came to my district in Michigan, and I have traveled to Colorado. We have been on a number of road trips for Cures across the country, and I look forward to the next journey down Pennsylvania Avenue. I also want to thank Chairman Pitts, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Green for their really strong partnership. We have made great strides, but our work continues, and we are not going to stop until the ink is dry. I thank Chairman Pete Sessions, Dr. Burgess, and members of the Rules Committee for making sure that this legislation has gotten to the floor in a timely fashion. I also want to give a hearty thanks to a young boy named Max, the 6- year-old ambassador for Cures. Yes, although he is faced with the challenges of Noonan syndrome, he has been a little warrior in that effort. He joined us when we had a 51-0 vote back on May 21 in the committee, and I am delighted that Max will be by our side tomorrow on the House floor for its final passage. Helping Max and others like him is why we are here, and helping my friends Brooke and Brielle, which will be part of my general debate discussion, is why we are here. With a resounding vote tomorrow, we will send a signal to the Senate loud and clear that the time for Cures 2015 is now. I look forward to working with my Senate counterparts on both sides of the aisle to continue the momentum of getting this bill to the President's desk. We have a chance to do something big, and this is our time.