US Senator plans legislation to advance medical research

In remarks at the Families USA Health Action Conference in Washington DC on January 22, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (Democrat, Massachusetts) announced plans to introduce new legislation to advance medical research.

She said: "The first problem is the government. Congress used to work in a non-political, bipartisan way to expand NIH [National Institutes of Health] funding. But since the early 2000s, Congress has been strangling the funding needed for medical research....The second problem is with the drug companies. Over the last 10 years, some of our wealthiest drug companies - those that capitalize on government research to generate billions of dollars in revenues through the sale of blockbuster drugs- have found another way to boost profits."

Sen Warren then laid out her plan to introduce a bill that would help strengthen the federal investment in critical medical research, saying: "Next week, I plan to introduce legislation - the Medical Innovation Act - that would substantially increase federal funding for the National Institutes of Health."