Political Quotes

“today I am introducing the New Medicines to Treat Addiction Act of 1999, legislation that builds upon my efforts in previous Congresses to promote research into and development of new medicines to treat the ravages of hard core drug addiction. Since the first call to arms against illegal drugs, we have learned just how insidious hard-core drug addiction is, even as the ravages of substance abuse--on both the addict and the addict's victims--have become ever more apparent. The frustration in dealing with a seemingly intractable national problem is palpable, most noticeably in the heated rhetoric as politicians blame each other for the failure to find a cure. What gets lost underneath the noise is the recognition that we have not done everything we can to fight this problem and that, like all serious ills, we must take incremental steps one at a time, and refuse to be overwhelmed by the big picture. Throughout my tenure as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I called for a multifaceted strategy to combat drug abuse. One of the specific steps I advocated was the creation of incentives to encourage the private sector to develop medicines that treat addiction, an area where promising research has not led--as one would normally expect--to production of medicines. The bill I am introducing today, the New Medicines To Treat Addiction Act of 1999, will hopefully change that.”