On the recordJune 20, 2012
I thank my friend for yielding to me. I rise in strong support of S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012. This is one of these rare occasions these days when Congress is working in a bipartisan manner to get good things done. This bipartisan, bicameral agreement is something of which we can all be proud; and it is a prime example, again, of the good legislative work that can be done by this body when compromises are accepted. In particular, I would like to thank the chairmen and ranking members of the full Energy and Commerce Committee and of the Health Subcommittee for their hard work to finalize this bill in such a timely manner. I would also like to thank them for including the reauthorization of the Critical Path Public-Private Partnerships in this legislation, something for which I pushed for a long time so that needed improvements in regulatory science can continue. I believe this bill will help meet the needs of the FDA industry and, most importantly, of the patients. I look forward to its passage.
