Frank Pallone: “Thank you, Chairman Waxman. I want to say I'm very proud to support the bill before us, which would reauthorize and…”

“Thank you, Chairman Waxman. I want to say I'm very proud to support the bill before us, which would reauthorize and revitalize a number of different programs at the FDA. This bill really represents a great compromise between the House and the Senate and strikes the right balance by including strong provisions that will be good for both innovation and patient safety. When we passed the House version of this bill, I spoke highly of a great cordial process, and I'm happy to be able to echo those sentiments again here today. This process should be a model for congressional bipartisan cooperation in the future. Not only did we all work so well together, staffs were able to rectify the differences among the two Chambers' versions of the bill in a matter of 2 weeks. That's commendable. It's a clear indication that Congress is certainly capable of greatness if we just allow ourselves to set politics aside and simply legislate. I want to thank Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman for your leadership. And to all the staff who worked around the clock--and of course particularly Tiffany Guarascio, who is my staff person--they were all dedicated to achieving a comprehensive and consensus product, and they've done just that. The bill before us today provides the FDA with more than $6 billion over 5 years to pay for the timely and efficient reviews of medical products.…”