Katie Porter: “First, I understand the point the gentleman is trying to make. I think the amendment misses the mark. First of all, let…”

“First, I understand the point the gentleman is trying to make. I think the amendment misses the mark. First of all, let me say that we have this wonderful synergy in our country where a great deal of the basic research which provides the foundation for applied research is done through NIH grants and we build this body of knowledge and then our pharmaceutical industry and our biotech industry build on that knowledge to develop products that they take to market. I think that that is a wonderful system that does more to develop the kinds of drugs that help eliminate disease or prevent it than any other place in the world. But what the gentleman's amendment attempts to do, and if I can read it, I would read it this way, it says, ``None of the funds made available in this Act for the National Institutes of Health may be used to grant an exclusive or partially exclusive license pursuant to,'' et cetera, dealing with the licensing of drugs. The funds that NIH makes for grants are never involved in licensing operations. The licensing is done by the institution subsequent to the completion of the grant. So that while the gentleman, if this amendment passed, might think he is accomplishing something, I believe that the amendment as written would not hit the mark he is trying to hit.”