Political Quotes

“Yesterday I proposed this amendment with Senator Bingaman. The Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committees make important decisions, life-and-death decisions. They decide whether the drugs and medical devices which are going to be used in America are safe and effective. In other words, if a person in America has a prescription from a doctor and takes this drug, is it going to be good for their health, or bad? This is a critical situation. If they make the wrong decision, if the advisory committee turns a dangerous drug loose on the market, it can have terrible consequences, so these committees literally have life- and-death decisions in their hands on approving drugs, on deciding what the warning labels say, deciding what you have to say in advertising. There might be a danger in these drugs. These advisory committees are the juries of scientific experts who have to make these calls. That is one of the most important decisions of our Government. They are not just life-and-death decisions, they are decisions involving millions and millions of dollars.”