Next relief package could benefit from 21st Century Cures Act update

Colorado Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette and Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton have been working on updating the 21st Century Cures Act since the fall. But with the country facing an unprecedented public health crisis, the bipartisan duo is hoping some elements of their upcoming bill are included in the next relief package Congress passes.

"We realized a number of the things we wanted to do could help us right now with the research that we're doing on COVID-19," DeGette said.

Some of those elements include improving our nation's pandemic surveillance and testing capabilities and increasing diversity in clinical trials.

DeGette and Upton released their concept paper on the CURES 2.0 legislation on Monday. The goal is to release the full legislation this fall.

The original bill, signed into law by former President Barack Obama in December 2016, invested billions into public health and medical research.