Heidi Alexander: “I thank the majority leader for bringing up this bill. He and the Republican leader have put on the floor a piece of…”

“I thank the majority leader for bringing up this bill. He and the Republican leader have put on the floor a piece of legislation that affects nearly every American family. This will not have the fireworks some things we do have, because we have a lot of agreement on it, which is one reason it is on the floor. It has gone through the committee. Senator Harkin and Senator Enzi have worked carefully with all of the Republicans, all of the Democrats on the committee, and many other people on a complex piece of legislation for a year, to bring to the floor the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act--a bill that is likely to succeed. We take our medicines for granted. During the Civil War, the Capitol was used as a hospital--this Capitol. Two thousand cots were set up in the House and Senate Chambers and the Rotunda. The first group of wounded arrived from the Second Battle of Bull Run and later from Antietam in September of 1862. Those soldiers did not have the benefit of antibiotics or other modern medicines that we take for granted today, and that contributed to a horrible number of deaths in the Civil War. Still, as the 20th century dawned, disease cast a long shadow over the United States of America. A child born in 1900 could expect to live an average of 47 years. Infectious diseases took many children before they reached their teens. In 1900 pneumonia and influenza were the leading causes of death, followed by tuberculosis and diarrhea.…”