Walden, Alexander, and Burr Request Bicameral Leadership Delay Signing of NDAA Conference Report

WASHINGTON, November 8, 2017 – House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) released the following statement regarding a provision within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that could endanger U.S. military personnel by exposing them to treatments without the critical oversight of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

“The men and women who serve in our armed forces deserve the best medical care available, including timely and safe treatments for the wounds they may suffer on the battlefield. However, a new provision in the NDAA, though well-intentioned, could jeopardize the FDA’s rigorous and science-based process to ensure the availability of safe treatments and therapies, which may ultimately create more harm than good for those who have risked their lives to defend our nation. We have been and will continue to be committed to working with our counterparts in Congress and the administration to craft language that would ensure the swift delivery of treatments without forgoing safety. Based on these discussions, it is our understanding that the White House shares our concerns and supports our efforts to find a workable solution. In the spirit of these good-faith negotiations, we ask House and Senate leadership to delay signing of the NDAA conference report to allow us to reach a compromise that puts the safety of our warfighters first."

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