Heidi Alexander: “the Senator from Illinois is very generous, and I thank him, but I would remind him that he was the persistent agent for…”

“the Senator from Illinois is very generous, and I thank him, but I would remind him that he was the persistent agent for the change in support for regenerative medicine. That wasn't easy to do, and he has been the leader, along with others of us who cared about the same thing, in making sure the United States maintains its lead in supercomputing competition around the world. Senator Murphy, the Senator from Connecticut, is coming. I think what I will do is begin, and when he comes I will stop and let him make his 5 minutes of remarks and then resume so I don't delay the vote because I know everyone is looking forward to casting a great big ``yes'' vote in a few minutes. The U.S. Senate majority leader, whose position in the Senate this is, has said more than once in private meetings I attended and on the floor of this body that the 21st Century Cures bill on which we will be voting in a few minutes is the most important legislation Congress will pass this year. In his address to the Nation this past weekend, President Obama urged us to vote for the bill today and tomorrow. ``It could help us find a cure for Alzheimer's,'' the President said.…”