Arlen Specter: “The amendment which the Senator from Kansas has offered was offered without any notice to this Senator, which came as a…”

“The amendment which the Senator from Kansas has offered was offered without any notice to this Senator, which came as a surprise, since the Senator from Kansas and I have been debating this subject very broadly for the past year or two. Having seen this amendment for the first time this evening, I was surprised that when I walked out for a telephone call, that opportunity was used by the Senator from Nevada to offer a second-degree amendment to foreclose this Senator from offering a second-degree amendment, although that may still be possible under certain procedural approaches. The arguments which I have heard the Senator from Kansas offer tonight, almost his entire presentation has not been about the patent issue but has been about therapeutic cloning, and embryonic stem cells. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services had some 14 hearings on the issues relating to stem cells and nuclear transplantation. There has been no hearing at all on this subject. Again, it is a little surprising to find it come up on a very important bill regarding Federal guarantees on insurance. The commercial world has been waiting for action on this bill and, to find this amendment here, again I say, is surprising. The core question which is raised by the Senator from Kansas has been answered by the Patent Office.”