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The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a medical cures bill shortly after reaching a bipartisan $13 billion deal to pay for the legislation. (Sullivan, 5/21)

A U.S. House of Representatives committee on Thursday unanimously approved a bill to speed new drugs to the market, overcoming last-minute wrangling over how to pay for the legislation. The bill, known as the 21st Century Cures Act, requires the Food and Drug Administration to incorporate patient experience into its decision-making, streamline its review of drugs for additional uses, and consider more flexible forms of clinical trials. (5/21)

A bill in the House of Representatives that aims to speed approval of drugs and medical devices would set aside $10 billion over five years for the National Institutes of Health and about half a billion dollars for the Food and Drug Administration, rare funding increases that the bill’s sponsors say will help carry out the sweeping legislation and spur biomedical innovation. (Tavernise, 5/21)

House committee members Thursday voted unanimously to move the proposed 21st Century Cures Act toward consideration by the full body. The bipartisan support reflected in House Energy and Commerce Committee members' 51-0 vote in favor of the bill came after lawmakers hashed out an agreement on ways to offset its estimated $13 billion cost. (Johnson, 5/21)

The House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed its 21st Century Cures bill Thursday morning, putting the bipartisan legislation on track for a vote in the House next month. (Norman, 5/21)