Political Quotes

“one year ago today, the Birth Defects Prevention Act passed the House of Representatives, clearing its way for the President's signature. With this new funding, the Centers for Disease Control has implemented a national strategy, in conjunction with the States and local organizations such as the March of Dimes, to prevent the devastating incidence of birth defects. Building upon that success, today I rise to introduce the Healthy Kids 2000 Act--comprehensive approach which addresses the broad spectrum of health issues affecting our nation's children. And I want to thank the March of Dimes and the National Association of Children's Hospitals for supporting me in this effort to improve the health of our nation's children and pregnant women as we move into the new millennium. I also want to thank my colleague from Ohio, Mike DeWine, for his work on children's health issues, and for allowing me to adopt some of his ideas for inclusion in this bill. Senator DeWine has been a dedicated leader on children's health, and has been essential to the development of the sections of this bill that focus on poison control centers and pediatric research within the National Institutes of Health. I am struck, every time I go into the neonatal wards across my home state of Missouri, at the tiny one and two pound babies, hooked up to monitors and tubes and looking so helpless. Many of them will survive; a few may not.”