Tom Harkin

It's interesting, because you know, I've been interested in complementary and alternative medicine for a long time.

I'm still concerned about that.

I appreciate that. It's something, as you know, I've been hot on this for a long time.

Here's the law that set it up.

We wrote into law certain guidelines, put it right into the law.

We might as well start where we started with Dr. Kirschstein.

Thank you all very much for excellent testimony. Very pointed, very to the point.

We proposed a $1 billion increase for NIH.

I know Senator Specter and I both wish we could have done more for NIH.

We'll get better than what the President requested.

We've got to get it back up again.

I just hope that we can get a little bit better budget than what the President requested.

But also realize, Mr. Chairman, that we are working on building up our CTSAs and that's another challenge in NCRR.

So, if we--I mean, excuse me for interrupting. So if we do better than the President's budget will you put that money back in?

I was disappointed to see in your budget request that your plans cut the funding for the centers by $1.7 million for a total of $72.3 million.

I've got to go but a couple of things I wanted to cover. Cancer stem cells.

You actually have it in the stockpile now.

How certain are you? I mean, what's the success rate if you had 100 people who became symptomatic with anthrax and you gave them this vaccine? What's the survival rate?

Tell me more about that.

Recent estimates have said we need to be prepared for an anthrax attack.

I think most people would be alarmed to find out tuberculosis which we thought was in the Dark Ages has come back so strongly.

Pancreatic cancer is so bad because there's no early detection.

I've had others say the same thing. By the time you detect it, it's too late.

As I said, Dr. Niederhuber, pancreatic cancer, number four killer among cancers.

It's one of the few cancers for which mortality rates are virtually the same today as they were 30 years ago.