Cures

Medical researchers across Pennsylvania are pushing the frontiers of their field by developing state-of-the-art therapies for a number of different diseases that could save millions of lives. For example, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and I visited Dr. Carl June at University of Pennsylvania last year (photo above) to learn about his groundbreaking research that is producing some astonishing results by harnessing the body's immune system to rid patients of cancer.

This week, Congress took action to help Dr. June and others discover the next generation of medical treatments. With my support, the Senate passed the 21^st Century Cures Act - bipartisan legislation that will help to bring treatments to patients faster and increase federal investment in biomedical research in a fiscally responsible way. It also provides more funding for the Cancer Moonshot, significantly overhauls our nation's broken mental health system, and gives states money to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic.

It's great to see both sides of the aisle coming together, finding common ground on the important issue of medical research, and passing legislation that can make a real difference in people's lives.

One of my top priorities in the Senate has been to protect taxpayers from wasteful government programs, bank bailouts, and excessive regulations that are undermining our economy. That is why I am "leading the charge" to enable the Senate to pass reforms to Dodd-Frank that would save taxpayers money, eliminate costly and unnecessary federal red tape, and spur job creation using a fast-track legislative procedure known as budget reconciliation.

Budget reconciliation is a tactic that would require only a simple majority in the Senate instead of 60 votes, and it could include sweeping reforms at the CFPB and eliminating taxpayer bailout programs. I hope my Democratic colleagues will work with us so we can begin to make the constructive changes that we need. But if not, I think we should use all tools available to get this done. The American people rightfully expect Washington to deliver results.

You can watch me fight for taxpayers in a speech on the Senate floor here, and read about my efforts in the Wall Street Journal here.

Too many Pennsylvanians have fallen victim to crime or are at risk due to sanctuary city policies. I called into Dom Giordano's radio show in Philly this week to discuss my efforts to help keep our communities safe by ending this dangerous policy.

My legislation, the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary City Policies Act, would withhold certain federal funds from sanctuary cities - jurisdictions that forbid their local law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration officials. Despite the support of a bipartisan majority of my colleagues, the Senate failed to act on this critical safety measure in July.

I went to the Senate floor recently to call for action on my legislation. You can learn more about this critically important issue by watching my floor speech here.

On Wednesday, I met with a number of physicians from across the commonwealth to discuss how we can work together to improve access to high quality, affordable health care.

Instead of giving the Washington bureaucrats more power, I believe the best way to lower health care costs is to empower patients and increase price and quality transparency within the health care system. These meetings are a great way for me to hear directly from doctors on the frontlines and better understand the impact of the president's flawed health care law. Working together, I am confident we can repeal this terrible law and replace it with reforms that will help all Pennsylvanians.

Congratulations to the Keystone Little League team from Clinton County!

The state championship team visited Washington, D.C. this week, and I joined them on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson of Centre County. This team was just one win away from representing the Mid-Atlantic region in the Little League World Series for the second time in five years. It was great to visit with the players and spend some time hearing from them on the importance of teamwork, determination, and commitment.