FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2026
Contact: minority_jecpress@jec.senate.gov
RELEASE: As New Report Finds that Superbugs Cost the U.S. Health Care System $5.7 Billion Annually, Senator Hassan Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Develop New Antibiotics
Senator Hassan to Lead Senate Finance Subcommittee Hearing Today at 10 am and Will Address Tools to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) has launched a new effort to combat the growing threat of superbugs – bacteria or fungi resistant to standard antibiotics. The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today on the cost of superbugs – also called antimicrobial resistance – to the overall health care system, finding that outbreaks can cost approximately $5.7 billion when accounting for medical personnel, equipment, and the space necessary to treat patients. Additionally, Senator Hassan is today introducing the bipartisan Stop Superbugs Act with Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), which would formally authorize and further focus the efforts of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) working group in order to help facilitate clinical trials for new antibiotics to mitigate the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
“Nearly 3 million Americans get sick each year with an infection that cannot be treated with the routine antibiotics that we have today. Doctors who are treating patients with a resistant infection often have to try multiple antibiotics, and in some cases, no treatment options exist,” said Senator Hassan, Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee and Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care. “Developing new antibiotics is a priority not just for the health of our people but for our national security, because as we face the challenge of combating superbugs and defending against other outbreaks, our foreign adversaries are growing increasingly sophisticated in their own biotechnology. If the United States does not keep up with the science and innovation coming from countries like China, we risk falling behind and becoming reliant on critical new medications that are only available abroad.”
"We've made incredible progress because of antibiotics, but they’re only valuable if they still work. Drug-resistant infections are becoming more common, and we need to be ready,” said Senator Marshall. “The STOP Superbugs Act helps strengthen the research network and clinical trials needed to speed new treatments from the lab to the bedside."
Hospitals in the United States see millions of infections each year that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics, and the rapid development of new antibiotics is critical to address this growing threat. However, American companies face headwinds when trying to invest in new antibiotics that could help patients. Antibiotic discovery requires substantial early-stage scientific research, and the clinical trials are complex and expensive because these infections are urgent and life-threatening medical conditions.
Senators Hassan and Marshall today introduced the Stop Superbugs Act, new bipartisan legislation that would formally authorize the Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group grant through the NIH. The legislation, which is endorsed by the American Society for Microbiology and the Sepsis Alliance, would require the NIH to award a competitive grant for the Leadership Group to work towards four specific objectives:
- Support rapid recruitment of clinical trial participants;
- Conduct clinical trial recruitment outreach in community settings;
- Support the pairing of better diagnostics and new antibiotics during clinical trials; and
- Develop patient-reported outcomes in clinical studies.
Additionally, Senator Hassan, as the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, will help lead a hearing today at 10 am on “Building a Resilient Health Care Future with Biotechnology,” which will address the threat and financial burden of superbugs.
This report is part of Senator Hassan’s ongoing work to lower costs and make health care more affordable. Earlier this year, two of Senator Hassan’s bipartisan measures to lower prescription drug costs passed into law. The Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Actwill speed the approval of generic drugs by ending the arbitrary and lengthy process currently in place that requires generic manufacturers to keep guessing at the ways in which their proposed drugs lack the characteristics of relevant brand name drugs, rather than allow the FDA to tell them where their proposed generic drug is lacking. This change will enable companies to get generic drugs to market sooner, lowering prices for consumers, and saving taxpayer dollars. The Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act helps stop pharmacy benefit managers from driving up prescription drug pricing for seniors.
Read the new Joint Economic Committee - Minority report on superbugs here.
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