Gilbert Gutknecht: “I am the vice chairman of the Committee on Science, and our research shows Americans represent something like 6 percent…”

“I am the vice chairman of the Committee on Science, and our research shows Americans represent something like 6 percent of the world's population, but we represent over 50 percent of the basic research done in the world. It is because of Americans that we have places like the Mayo Clinic, and it is because of the American spirit that we do what we do. It is because of the American spirit we put men on the moon and return them safely. We want to do this research. This year we will spend roughly $29 billion taxpayer dollars on research. The interesting thing is many of the pharmaceutical companies work very closely with the various research institutes that do this research, and they pay very close attention. Many times this research that is done, once the research is completed, that information is available free of charge. They get this research free of charge. In many respects, we subsidize the pharmaceutical industry with that $29 billion of taxpayer money. There is a second way that we subsidize the pharmaceutical industry, and that is in the Tax Code.”