Bipartisanship in the 21st Century Cures Act

Abstract

In the 114th Congress, only 2.7% of introduced bills became laws. During this Congress, the 21st Century Cures Act passed with an overwhelming majority of 392 to 26 in the House and 94 to 5 in the Senate. The purpose of the act was to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of treatments and cures, which is normally a partisan topic. Little comprehensive work has been done towards understanding the act. Content analysis allowed the exploration of the two questions: did political compromise occur in the act, and if so, what were the main characteristics of political compromise? Political compromise is a method of achieving bipartisanship. This project defined it as agreement over the wording of a section, lack of specific content, the removing of content, and the inclusion of content. Political compromise was identified in three main areas: the bipartisan committees used to develop the ideas for the act, the use of preexisting bills as provisions, and the resolving of disputes. The two characteristics that most strongly allowed for political compromise in this act are strategic planning and experienced leadership. These characteristics can help in the analysis of other bills to understand why they do or do not pass.