Political Quotes

“I see Senators Isakson and Tester are here. I think they want to make remarks before the vote. Let me say a few words following up on Senator Murray, and then I will place the rest of my comments in the Record. This is very important legislation. Last year, we passed the 21st Century Cures Act to move these modern medical miracles into medicine cabinets and doctors' offices more rapidly. This is funding that pays for one-quarter of the Food and Drug Administration, which has a critical role in approving the safety and effectiveness of drugs, treatments, and devices. As with most things in the Senate that actually are important and work well and get a result, a lot of hard work has gone into this. It started 2 years ago with Republicans and Democrats; Senator Murray and I and our staffs working together with the House of Representatives at the same time, working with manufacturers, the FDA, many others, working out many differences of opinion. So now we are going to get to a result within a few minutes. We are probably going to adopt this by voice vote almost unanimously. Everyone will say that must have been easy. It wasn't that easy, but it is how work gets done in the U.S. Senate when we do it well. I want to comment on our colleagues and the staff and the House of Representatives on what they have done. We will continue to focus our attention on the 21st Century Cures Act.…”