Expert Insights and Urgent Calls for Congressional Action on AMR at a Washington, D.C. Policy Briefing

The One Health Trust, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the AMR Action Fund, Sepsis Alliance, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation held a briefing for U.S. Congressional staff on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to discuss the progress made in addressing the global health crisis since 2015. The panel discussed the need for Congress to focus on investments in surveillance, antibiotic stewardship, infection prevention, and economic incentives for new antibiotic development. Speakers like Jackie Duda, Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, Dr. Paul Pottinger, and John Alter emphasized the need for antibiotic research and development. The bipartisan PASTEUR Act, a bill on the floor of Congress, would establish a mechanism to de-link profits and drug development. Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC, highlighted the threat of AMR to American safety and the need for Congress to continue fighting for sustainable access to effective antibiotics.