Political Quotes

“It is great to be on the floor today. It was an awesome opportunity to be a conferee on the National Defense Authorization bill. As a veteran, 5 years active Army Infantry, 23 in the Reserves, I don't get a chance to do that very often because I am on the best committee in Congress, which is Energy and Commerce. But to be able to be in that process, I am very appreciative to you and to the other conferees. It was then that you learn what you learn, and the military had a problem. They had a long-delayed issue on freeze-dried plasma that is inexcusable, and they took action in the legislative language to rectify that delay, and we would, too. But the legislative process worked. I also want to commend my colleagues on the minority side and Ranking Member Pallone because what we want for our men and women in uniform, we want them to get an expedited pathway to lifesaving devices and drugs. But we also want to make sure that those things are safe, and the premier institution for safety and efficacy is the Food and Drug Administration. Now, we have a new administration that probably wouldn't have had an 8-year delay on freeze-dried plasma, and we have a new administrator of the FDA who has committed to reform these processes. But good intentions are not all that we need. We need legislative language.…”