Political Quotes

“the issue of pharmaceutical patents under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [GATT] has been under review by this body for some time. Well respected individuals--from the Senate, from the Administration, and from the private sector--weighed in on both sides of the issue. Last December, I joined my Senate colleagues in voting to send this matter to the Judiciary Committee for hearings because I felt many questions remained unanswered about how certain patents were treated under the GATT. With no clear legislative history to follow, I believed--and still believe--it was important for Congress to carefully review the issue and get to the heart of the matter. I am pleased to note that my distinguished colleague from Utah, Senator Hatch, followed through on his commitment to hold hearings on pharmaceutical patents and the GATT, just as I knew he would. With his long history on addressing issues of concern to the generic drug industry, I had no question that he would do all he could to get to the bottom of this issue. The subsequent hearings were sorely needed so that the Senate could adequately consider the ramifications of the various courses of action proposed on this matter. Taking some time to adequately review an issue leads to better legislation and better results for Americans. This is a serious matter, and deserved serious and thoughtful review. Since those hearings concluded I have carefully reviewed the record on this complex issue.”