House OKs bill bolstering medical research, drug approvals

November 30, 2016 at 9:21 p.m. | Updated November 30, 2016 at 9:21 p.m.

by Associated Press

In this Spet. 19, 2015, file photo Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., is seen during a congressional panel at the 2016 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Mackinac Island, Mich. Republican leaders are ready to push through the House a compromise medical research bill that's prompted complaints from Democrats and consumer groups but seems all but certain to sail through Congress because it contains victories for both parties and the White House. "We feel that we're on good footing," Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said about the bill's prospects in both the House and Senate. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
In this Spet. 19, 2015, file photo Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., is seen during a congressional panel at the 2016 Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference in Mackinac Island, Mich. Republican leaders are ready to push through the House a compromise medical research bill that's prompted complaints from Democrats and consumer groups but seems all but certain to sail through Congress because it contains victories for both parties and the White House. "We feel that we're on good footing," Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said about the bill's prospects in both the House and Senate. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House has approved a sweeping biomedical bill that the lame-duck Congress hopes to send to President Barack Obama next week.

The $6.3 billion measure would help drug and medical device manufacturers win swifter government approval of their products. It would increase spending for federal disease research at the National Institutes of Health and for drug abuse efforts, and overhaul mental health programs.

Wednesday's House vote was 392-26.

Consumer groups and some Democrats say the measure's streamlining of Food and Drug Administration approval processes is dangerous for patients.

But the bill is a compromise backed by the White House, Republicans and many Democrats and seems likely to pass the Senate next week.

The Obama administration and supportive Democrats say the bill's advances outweigh its weaknesses.

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