Arlen Specter

My office has also been in contact with FDA on this issue of bioequivalence for a life-saving antibiotic because leading infectious disease experts in my state have expressed concern that FDA did not take appropriate steps to establish…

I voted against the supplemental appropriations bill because of the provision which specifies a withdrawal date. With President Bush's statement that he will veto the bill, it will be returned to Congress so that we can negotiate with the…

I would not hesitate to do so again if I agreed, but I cannot agree with the language requiring that not later than 120 days after enactment to have phased redeployment of U.S. forces, with the goal of redeploying by March 31, 2008, all…

I'm not impressed by your assertion that there are thousands of facts. That's your job. That's the FBI agent's job.

It would be preferable to have the matter transcribed.

The work of this subcommittee is well known, and our vigorous advocacy for NIH.

I'm looking forward to the day when either Senator Harkin or I will be chairman of appropriations. I have a preference.

As I think it is fairly well known, Senator Harkin and I, over the course of the past two decades, have taken the lead on increasing funding for the National Institutes of Health so that we have taken it from about $12 billion to about $29…

We have to be candid about it. The budget resolution is confederate money. Until it gets into an appropriation it doesn't count.

The budget resolution does contain an increase this year of $1.3 billion and Senator Harkin and I added an amendment to increase the budget resolution for $2.2 billion more.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman for convening this important hearing and thank you, Dr. Hodes, Dr. Katz, Dr. Nabel, and Dr. Rodgers for joining us this morning to explore the needs of your various Institutes and the impact of the budget cuts…

The administration has come forward with a cut this year, again. The proposal is to cut NIH by $327 million.

I hear a lot of people--and a lot of my friends are dying of cancer--and I know a lot of people with heart conditions.

I'd like to see it get a little more attention.

How are the allocations made, to have the $107 million, roughly, which is a very, very small part of the NIH budget?

The allocation for autism is substantially less than the allocation for other major research activities

It is not inappropriate to raise a question.

The funding for autism has risen, as I noted, from $27 million in 1998, to a projected budget in 2008 of $107,870,000

Public health needs. There, and as you mentioned, the public health urgency here is obvious, to all of us.

Senator Harkin and I, and this committee--and I think, really, the whole Congress--are determined to increase funding so we can find an answer to autism.

Candidly, a budget resolution is only Confederate money, it doesn't really count until there is an allocation.

My view is that the funding through the NIH is insufficient.

Well, we will continue to work with you, Madam Secretary. We have been for a long time. These are big, big problems. We want to do our best to try to solve them.

If the pie were a little bigger, we would be able to give more to your requests.

Well, Madam Secretary, I can understand the problem of the backlog, especially when the funding for your Department is cut.