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In a rare display of bipartisanship, a nearly 1,000 page, $6.3 billion medical research bill passed Congress this week. To hear lawmakers talk, the cure for hundreds of diseases are just around the corner. “Right now, there are 10,000 known diseases. We only have treatments for 500 of them. Cures will close that gap,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said of the 21st Century Cures Act on the House floor. “It will fundamentally transform the way that we treat and cure diseases in this country,” he added at a press conference on the bill. (Karlin-Smith, 12/9)

The Senate early Saturday cleared a water resources bill that would authorize nearly $11.7 billion for water infrastructure projects and $170 million to help Flint, Mich., repair its lead-tainted drinking water system. The vote was 78-21. It followed soon after the chamber cleared a continuing resolution late Friday (HR 2028) that avoided a government shutdown at the end of the day. Senators spent most of Friday arguing over the miners' benefits that were part of the CR. (Fishler, 12/10)