Al Franken

This is part of the 7(a) process.

I just want to say that.

We want to preserve this act, and we want to preserve the intent that Senators Mondale and Gaylord Nelson had.

I plan to work on the three policy issues that I touched on in my questions, communication between the FDA and the industry, unnecessarily restrictive conflict of interest rules, and the profit cap on humanitarian use devices.

Basically, we need a--the feeling is that, and I think Mr. Tomten would agree, that a new bridge is needed.

Congratulations, Ranking Member Paul--who is my mentee--did you know that? In the Senatorial mentor program.

I really, I believe that the smaller, slower bridge would also require an exemption, a congressional exemption.

The existing bridge cannot be replaced, because it is protected as an historic bridge.

Stillwater needs a bridge, and it needs it now, or, it needs it to start very soon.

If Congress is going to move forward with authorizing this project, does the Park Service have any concerns that this bill does not address?

I believe that we are going to need, no matter what we do, we're going to need an exemption to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

I think we can all agree that patient safety is a priority of Congress and a priority of the FDA.

I rise today to discuss the urgent need to raise the debt limit. I wish to take this opportunity to remind my colleagues of our obligation to represent our constituents' best interests and those of our great Nation, for at this late hour…

I believe that we can make the FDA processes more efficient, more predictable, and better support and reward biomedical innovation.

I think it would be good to keep those folks in Minnesota where they are able to contribute to our economy.

this weekend, driving around the Twin Cities, I was listening to public radio. The host of the program introduced a Republican member of the House Budget Committee. The member, whom I will not name to spare him or her a great deal of…

The idea that Government can create jobs in the economy is a myth.

I would like to associate myself with what Senator Murray just spoke about.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: S. 1399 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of…

Do you think that changing that rule might be, like, a swell idea?

I'm trying to get our debt down. That's a very important part of our job right now.

We're trying to measure outcome. We're trying to measure outcome.

I believe that the medical device industry contains a wealth of expertise that is too often neglected when considering changes to the device review process.

we have to find ways in which to bring down costs to society and costs to the Government.

There really is a return on investment on this, and it saves money, but it also saves lives.