Arlen Specter: “The time was yielded back? Senator Durbin did not have the authority to yield back my time. I understand he did not have…”

“The time was yielded back? Senator Durbin did not have the authority to yield back my time. I understand he did not have that authority. I am obliged it was not Senator Durbin. It was unnamed conspirators that I will deal with later. I support the amendment of the Senator from Illinois to reinstate the Senate mark on the National Institutes of Health because the money is needed. When you take in the inflation factor, NIH will be funded at a lower rate this year than last year. The Senate has taken the lead, initiated by Senator Harkin and myself and our subcommittee, the full Committee of Appropriations, to more than double NIH funding from $12 billion to $28 billion. The results have been remarkable. We are on the vanguard of enormous advances on some classifications of cancer, on the research on many maladies which confront America. It is something of sharper focus this year to me than in the past, although I have steadfastly supported NIH during my entire tenure in the Senate. This is a modest addition. I believe this Senate will instruct the conferees, and we will have more than 50 votes. The difficult part is getting it done in conjunction with the House. It is a good amendment. I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield the floor and yield back the remainder of my time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion made by the Senator from Pennsylvania. The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.…”