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S. 4494: American Cures Act

119th Congress · introduced 2026-05-12 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations. (text: CR S2239)

federal

What does this mean?

Official title

American Cures Act

Plain summary

American Cures Act This bill permanently funds several federal agencies and programs that perform biomedical research. The bill provides specified funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense health program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. The bill exempts the funding from sequestration, which is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. It also exempts the budgetary effects of the funding from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010 and the Senate PAYGO rule.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

American Cures Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · 4 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Andy Kim (D-NJ)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] reported raising $84,084 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

Words on this page, explained (3)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong119-s4494 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills