Political Quotes

“As a member of both the Select Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Energy Commerce, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2122, the Project BioShield Act. Mr. Speaker, today, the House takes an important step toward preparing our Nation for the threat of bioterrorism. Clearly, we are living in a transformational era. Thirty years ago, none of us knew what biotechnology or genomics were, but, today, combined with our country's unparalleled leadership in semiconductors and computing power, we are on the verge of breathtaking breakthroughs in the field of bioscience. Congress has played an important role not only by doubling the funding for the National Institutes of Health, but also by committing $6 billion in fiscal year 2003 to develop strategies and countermeasures to protect the American public from bioterror attacks. Even though we are in a better position in terms of preparedness than we were just a few months ago prior to the anthrax attacks here on Capitol Hill, we have much more to do. Project BioShield is a critically important step in that process.”