francis collins, the

. >> next fda commissioner scott gottlieb and nih director francis collins testified about some of the latest medical innovation and research. topics before the senate h.e.l.p. committee included opioid epidemic research, stem cell innovation, and rare disease funding.

quinones and i've asked them francis collins if we could set a goal addiction free by 2030. i mindful of your point that there is no silver bullets but i'm also mindful that if you don't have a target to organize around we will be on the move we will rebuild these economies and enable them to protect themselves from this if you don't set the target then you don't marshal your resources around meeting the target so if you were to advise us about what the target would be and again i posed the question to these folks to reset the target of addiction free by 2030 and francis collins and they said yes, that's doable if you define it the right way and it's doable within the current scientific knowledge and technological likely near-term future but if you were to give us a target, what would you tell us. >> if i gave you a target we'd all be in trouble. [laughter] i would say that a target is good and as my hunch as an american that is something to strive towards is always good to have a deadline and always good to have a goal. what that you should be and whether or not humans can

francis collins. he's been director of the national institutes of health overseeing the work of the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world. since 2009. the second witness we'll hear from is dr. scott gottlieb. he's commissioner of food and drugs. ensuring our drugs and medical devices are safe and effective. he was formerly deputy commissioner of the same agency. he was confirmed on may 9 of this year. welcome again to our witnesses. dr. collins, let's begin with you. >> well, good morning. thank you, chairman alexander, ranking member murray and other distinguished committee members. it is an honor to be here today with my colleague, dr. scott gottlieb, the commissioner of the fda. as you well know, the 21st century cures act aimed to catalyze a very important goal shared by all americans. to speed the pace at which scientific discoveries are translated into life-saving treatments and cures. we at nih actually greatly appreciate your leadership in passing this bipartisan act by a vote

at least twice doctor francis collins had predicted the holy grail that was for so is now within reach. last month he said perhaps within five years. his organize nih researchers with private companies to speed up the process. doctor scott gottlieb is on track to fast-track it. i read at least some of your book to say that some of this may never be found. some scientists it should not be found. i hope you will tell us what you think. should we not continue to find nonaddictive pain medicine ten suffering? the secondary i want to learn is what we can do from washington, d.c. we've tried to address the ravages of this. congress passed the comprehensive addiction recovery act of the 21st century cares hacked to give states and communities the tools and resources they need to combat the crisis. there's a provision by senators warning capital that made it clear pharmacies could only fill part of certain prescriptions that way a mob filling the pain prescription could ask only for three days worth of pills instead of 30 days he was prescribed. in addition it included for the $1 billion in st

at least twice before this conference doctor francis collins, head of the national institutes of health has predicted that the holy grail that was first sought 75 years ago is now within reach.last month he said perhaps within five years. with our encouragement doctor collins has organized researchers in partnership with private companies to speed up the process. the food and drug and ministration commissioner was on board to fast-track the effort within the bounds of safety and efficacy. i read at least some of your post to say that this holy grail may never be found. some scientists say it should not be found. i hope you tell us what you think about this. should we not continue to try to find nonaddictive penn medicine to relieve suffering without addiction? is that not the obvious antidote to opioid epidemic? the second area i would hope to learn about is what we can do from washington dc. we have tried in important ways to adjust the ravages of this crisis. which we have all experienced in our state. in 2016 congress passed the comprehensive addiction and recovery act. in the 21st c

congress, dr.his francis collins has predicted that the holy grail that was first sought 75 years ago is now within reach. last month, he said perhaps within five years. with our encouragement, dr. collins has organized researchers to speed up the process. the fda commissioner was on board to fast-track the effort within the bounds of safety and efficacy. i read at least some of your book to say this holy grail may never be found. you even quote some scientists who say it should not be found. i hope you will tell us what you think about this. should we not continue to try to find nonaddictive pain medicine to relieve suffering? is that not the obvious antidote to the opioid epidemic? the second area i would hope to learn from you is what we can do from washington, d.c. we have tried to address the ravages of this crisis which we have all experienced in our states. passed thengress comprehensive addiction and recovery act and the 21st century cures act to give states and communities the tools and resources they need to combat this crisis. for example, a provision by senators warren and

my name is francis collins. i've been a renter in san francisco since 1970. since there is no money from the federal government, and with this administration cutting hud, i would appreciate that we keep the set aside from the housing for the housing fund. if something happened to me concerning my housing and the fact that i'm on a fixed income, i'd like to know that there's a housing fund that i could access in any case of an emergency. thank you. >> hello. yes. my name is ernesto escuarez. i am a homeowner, and in 2011-2012, we stopped the foreclosure right on the steps of city hall. i think money set aside, it should be to help foreclosures or for the specific needs of the community. you know, the community is the one that makes the city, and i'd like to ask you the charter amendment is not a good thing for the community, and thank you for listening to us, and money set asides should just be money set aside for the community. thank you so much. >> supervisor safai: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is sandy morey, and i'm representing the d

target would be, again i pose the question to these folks could we set the target by 2030 and francis collinsthey said yes, that is doable if you define it the right way it is doable within the current scientific knowledge and technological likely future but if you were to give us a target, what would you tell us. >> we would all be in trouble. i would say that a target is good and my hunch as an american is i that is something to strive towards and it's always good to have a deadline and a goal on what that year should be and whether or not humans can ever beat addiction free is a debatable point in my opinion. as i said in some of my testimony, to me this is a supply story. i lived in mexico for ten years and when i was in mexico, i grew up having thought about very deeplit verydeeply i adopted tht all of the american drug problems were demand driven and -- >> there's a lot of evidence for that when you arrest a street corner dealer another one pops up but the demand is going to keep producing. >> i agree, but the thing that starts it i believe is supply, and i came to believe that after li

at least twice before this conference doctor francis collins, head of the national institutes of healthhas predicted that the holy grail that was first sought 75 years ago is now within reach.last month he said perhaps within five years. with our encouragement doctor collins has organized researchers in partnership with private companies to speed up the process. the food and drug and ministration commissioner was on board to fast-track the effort within the bounds of safety and efficacy. i read at least some of your post to say that this holy grail may never be found. some scientists say it should not be found. i hope you tell us what you think about this. should we not continue to try to find nonaddictive penn medicine to relieve suffering without addiction? is that not the obvious antidote to opioid epidemic? the second area i would hope to learn about is what we can do from washington dc. we have tried in important ways to adjust the ravages of this crisis. which we have all experienced in our state. in 2016 congress passed the comprehensive addiction and recovery act. in the 21st ce