Arlen Specter

This is why Autism Speaks strongly supports Senator Specter' s 'Cures Acceleration Network' (CAN Act)...

If you're confirmed, do you promise to be courteous.

I would be interested in your views and interested in your assurances that you would do whatever is possible to expedite the patent applications for environmental issues.

That is a very good answer and doing that will satisfy everybody.

I believe there is a strong nexus between the patent system, the innovation capability behind the patent system and fueling sustainable innovation, like innovation that benefits the environment.

Senator Lautenberg and I, and Senator Schumer, would like to extend it up to Binghamton to create a Wall Street West in the Pocono area.

I want to thank my colleague, Senator Carper, for his leadership on this important issue.

Many of us have been trying for a long time to get clean coal technology to ease that issue.

There is no doubt of the great importance of this issue in many directions: cleaning up the environment, stopping this threat of carbon, reducing our dependence on OPEC oil, which has tremendous ramifications politically with Iran being…

My own sense is having been in the field and having the experts from the National Institutes of Health, it is an enormously impressive hearing.

I was not arguing for tripling the NIH budget, only the portion devoted to the competitive grant-review process.

To what extent, Dr. Kaufman, do those royalties--how big a factor are the royalties?

It's the Kaufman review process?

I think Dr. Curran and Dr. Kaufman are modest in just wanting three and one-half-times the $30 billion. I think the yield would be greater.

NIH would like to have more money and I would like NIH to have more money.

The object is to promote health and if all of the eggs are in the research basket, you have the 'Valley of Death,' and there's not a practical application.

I think Tom Curran actually said it earlier.

So if you put up more money, you get more applications?

Well, of course, you need incremental progress, but do you think that a focus there crowds out a more transformative opportunity?

There is no conversation that I've ever had about the grant system that doesn't have an incredible sense of consensus that it is not working.

While work is underway to reform our Nation's healthcare delivery system, we must continue to make medical research a national priority.

You, Senator, have been a leading light, and a much needed, advocate for the NIH.

You yourself experience Senator Specter, is that it causes a risk of instability to the patients DNA or chromosomes.

I think it's important for us to develop new metrics to determine the potential of innovative research.

Congress is very anxious to support you and make the most generous allocations that we can to the National Institutes of Health.