Arlen Specter actually said...

In my first year in the Senate, the NIH budget was $3.6 billion, but when I became chairman... the NIH budget was $12 billion.

Does the executive share the sense of urgency, which the subcommittee feels on this subject?

I want to hear more than whether you are impressed with them. I want to know if anybody else is doing what they are doing.

What we are talking about is smallpox, anthrax, ebola virus, botulism, and others where there could be a very serious public health problem.