Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) supported the approval of H.R. 5585, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health (ARPA-H) Act. The new agency, which is modeled after the military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), would help speed up the development of medical treatments by funding high-risk, high-reward, innovative projects that cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity. This bill would establish ARPA-H as an independent operating division within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Breakthrough medical discoveries often require an environment that promotes risk taking, collaboration, and thinking outside the box,” said Congressman Bishop. “ARPA-H would enable such innovation and could lead to cures, treatments, and new technologies to improve the lives and well-being of all Americans.”
In addition to today’s bill, Congressman Bishop co-led a letter with the Georgia Congressional Delegation to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra urging him to consider Georgia as the headquarters of ARPA-H. The letter highlights Georgia’s long history of leading medical innovation, with the Centers for Disease Control, top-ranked medical schools, and nationally-recognized research institutions all based in the Peach State.
The full text of the letter can be viewed here, on the Congressman’s website.
