Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today the Senate passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2010. I was pleased to have been involved in the crafting of this bill, which is the product of months of bipartisan discussions, collaboration, and negotiation. I also want to recognize the hard work and dedication of Senators Dodd, Hatch, Burr, and Ensign in getting this bill across the finish line in the Senate. This bill offers promise to the tens of thousands of individuals diagnosed with leukemia and lymphomas, sickle cell anemia, and rare genetic blood disorders. It will reauthorize the C.W. Bill Young National Marrow Donor Program, which has been helping to connect individuals in need of a bone marrow transplant with donors since 1986, and the National Cord Blood Inventory, which has been helping to connect individuals in need of an umbilical cord blood transplant with donors since 1999. I am particularly pleased that the bill will remove a cap on the number of cord blood units that could be stored by qualified cord blood banks in the National Cord Blood Inventory. The original law limited the number to 150,000 units. As the science has evolved, we know that 150,000 is nowhere near the amount necessary to meet the demands of those in need of a cord blood transplant.…”