Arlen Specter

You're against abstinence?

Thank you very much, Rev. Page, for your testimony.

Those are funds that you, Senator Specter, were very instrumental in providing.

In my budget, this is the President speaking, I propose a grassroots campaign to help inform families about these medical risks.

We will double Federal funding for abstinence programs so schools can teach this fact of life.

Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases.

To encourage right choices we must be willing to confront the dangers young people face, even when they are difficult to talk about.

There are some who believe that there ought not to be only abstinence education but abstinence should be taught in conjunction with contraception.

If we can persuade young people to avoid premarital sex and unintended pregnancies there will be an enormous step forward.

I regret being a little bit delayed, but I was filing my papers for reelection.

Abstinence education has demonstrated its value in a society where there is so much concern about the morality of the young people and access to abortions.

We have been a donee State. If I hadn't been a donee State--for those who do not follow the terms, a donor is one who gives more than the State receives. Senator Kyl is bowing. Arizona is in that status. A donee State is one which receives…

If I might ask the chairman, you say Pennsylvania is a donee State? We are a donor State here in the final year of your bill.

I am concerned about the total cost of the bill in light of the position of President Bush's administration where there have been concerns raised about the total cost because we are facing such a large deficit this year. I do believe that…

In conclusion, I compliment the chairman of the committee, Senator Inhofe. I know how hard he has worked on this bill. I know how many people have come to him with concerns. That is one of the vicissitudes of being a chairman. I get the…

But these allegations will give fuel to people who want to cut back on your funding.

I am very much interested in your views on that as an evaluation which we are going to have to go into greater depth on.

I just wanted to see how anxious you were to weigh in on that.

I think the hearing has been very useful in covering the consensus on public disclosure without any complex definitions.

It is not easy to run all these hearings without a scorecard, and we do not work on a text.

I think these rules need transparency, need strengthening, et cetera, but I think it would be a mistake for a complete prohibition.

I think the hearing has been very productive.

Do you think there would be a significant loss of researchers at NIH if there was a blanket prohibition against consulting fees or owning stock in a pharmaceutical company?

Do you think it would be appropriate to ask a man in your position to file a public financial disclosure statement?

The first line is to have transparency with a public disclosure so that people can see what is going on.