Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today advanced two pieces of legislation to support research and access to therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and cardiovascular disease, respectively.
“I am proud to support legislation that supports access and treatment to diseases that impact so many North Country families,” Stefanik said. “I will continue this work to increase access to and the effectiveness of treatments for cardiovascular disease, as well as treatments and a cure for ALS. I know this bill to advance research and opportunities on cardiovascular disease is especially personal to my colleague Andy Barr, and I want to thank him for his work on this.”
The Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act (H.R. 3537) requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to eligible entities to facilitate patients' access to investigational drugs that diagnose or treat ALS. It also requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to award grants to public and private entities to cover the costs of research and development of drugs that diagnose or treat ALS and other severely debilitating neurodegenerative diseases.
The Cardiovascular Advances in Research and Opportunities Legacy Act (H.R. 1193) expands research on valvular heart disease and its treatment. Additionally, the bill directs the CDC to develop best practices to treat valvular heart disease and carry out other projects to increase awareness of and reduce deaths from the disease.
