Steny Hoyer: “Mr. Speaker, 3 minutes does not give me an opportunity, obviously, to discuss this bill or the fiscal shenanigans that…”

“Mr. Speaker, 3 minutes does not give me an opportunity, obviously, to discuss this bill or the fiscal shenanigans that are going on in this bill. But I do want to focus on one facet of this bill, the National Institutes of Health. We have all heard the phrase ``women and children first.'' That, essentially, means that we want to give to women and children priority. This phase has been women, children, and the sick and workers last. This bill has been held hostage to the last. Why? Because the President places a priority on women, children, workers, and the sick. ... I will tell my colleagues that people are concerned about this because it will delay such a large part. NIH budget will be a massive managerial challenge but much more importantly will force the delay of research grants and delay of clinical trials. My friends, the chairman of our committee so critically involved in bone marrow transplants knows how timely action is. We are delaying clinical trials for cancer patients.”