A medical innovation bill that contains the White House's Precision Medicine and Cancer Moonshot initiatives is losing momentum in the Senate over funding for the National Institutes of Health, according to The Hill.
This bill is the Senate's version of the 21st Century Cures Act, a House bill that passed last July.
Here are five things to know the bill and the hurdles it faces in the Senate.
1. At issue is funding for the medical research at the NIH. Democrats want the bill to include mandatory funding, which means it is guaranteed and does not need to go through the appropriations process. In general Republicans are wary of locking in mandatory funding, though some are open to the idea if it is targeted to specific initiatives like the cancer moonshot, according to the report.
2. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have said they are willing to work together to reach an agreement on funding. Sen. Alexander said they will need to reach an agreement on where the money will be allocated, how much will be allocated and where it will come from in order to move the bill forward, according to the report.
3. The White House has not weighed in on the issue. Some Democrats are pushing for $5 billion in annual funding for NIH, but White House officials would not comment, according to the report.
4. The bill includes about 50 other proposals in addition to the NIH funding. This includes Food and Drug Administration reforms, which are also at issue. Democratic members of the Senate are concerned the reforms will lower safety standards and want additional funding for the FDA, according to the report.
5. Many remain skeptical the bill will move forward at all. However, Sen. Alexander said he hopes the effort will get to the floor by the middle of April, according to the report.
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