Political Quotes

“Let me say, we can read the entire application, and the projects do not sound any more compelling or any more convincing. The point is this is about priorities. There are just so many devastating diseases that are killing people every day in this country. There are many where the NIH is responsible for tremendous progress being made on so many fronts. I think we have an obligation to do as much as we can for those priorities. Studying Asian prostitution in San Francisco massage parlors and the study of mood swings on sexual arousal does not strike me as deserving the same kind of priority as curing cancer in small children and so many other devastating diseases. That is what I think this is about. As for the peer review process, as a general matter I completely agree with the peer review process, but I do not think that absolves us completely of our obligation to have some oversight on these issues and decide whether or not in some cases this peer review process runs amok. That is what I think this debate is all about: Do we draw the line anywhere ever, or do we not. I think we do, I think we should on these specific grants, and I urge my colleagues to vote to adopt this amendment.”