Dan Coats: “I rise today to talk about the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. I believe we are going to have a…”

“I rise today to talk about the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. I believe we are going to have a cloture vote on this bill tonight, and I am pleased that all early indications are it will pass tonight and we will move forward on this bill. There has been considerable time spent drafting this legislation. It gained bipartisan support both in House and Senate committees, and it is moving through what I would call a regular process. We haven't seen too much of that in the last year and a half or so. This is the regular process. For those who say Congress can't get anything done, hopefully, with passage of this bill we will take a very significant step forward in terms of being able to provide and bring to patients, doctors, administrators, and others across the Nation new drugs, new treatments, and new medical devices that can ensure better health, prevent potential terminal situations, and provide better drug availability and device availability. So I think it is very important that this legislation goes forward. I am pleased we have gotten to this point on a bipartisan basis. I think Senators Harkin and Enzi deserve commendation for their work in the Senate, and those in the House as well for bringing the bill along on a parallel track. The whole idea of this legislation is to continue to provide the safest, most effective and most efficient drugs and devices for American citizens and people around the world.…”