Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am here today to talk about the Drug Quality and Security Act. This legislation does two things. First, it improves the regulation of compounding pharmacies, and second, it strengthens the security of our drug supply chain. This legislation has been in the works for quite a while and I am so pleased that the HELP Committee came together on a bipartisan basis and put together legislation that will truly save lives--across the country and in my home State of Maryland. This bill has been through regular order. We had multiple hearings in the HELP committee, we had working groups, of which I was a member, and we held a bipartisan markup. Our counterparts in the House did the same. And here we are today. This bill has passed the House and it is my hope that it will pass the Senate and be signed into law by the President. Let me first talk about the Compounding Quality Title of the bill and why it is so important. Last year, our Nation was devastated by a meningitis outbreak that sickened 751 people and killed 64 people. In Maryland, 26 people fell ill and 3 people died. As the HELP Committee looked into this outbreak, we quickly learned two things. First, these illnesses and deaths were caused by contaminated compounded drugs from the New England Compounding Center, NECC, located in Massachusetts. And second, these illnesses and deaths were entirely preventable.…”