Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Levin and Ranking Member McCain for their patience and persistence in allowing us to get to this vote. I think once I have discussed the bill for a moment, it might not seem as though it would have required much patience or persistence to get here, but it did. They have been very kind and very attentive, and I appreciate it. The history of this amendment is that it began as a bill in the Senate. This bill passed out of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee by unanimous consent. An identical bill passed through the House of Representatives under suspension. So in many respects it is noncontroversial. I also thank Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi of the HELP Committee for their help getting it through the HELP Committee unanimously and for clearing it for a vote here today on the floor. The bill at this point has nearly 60 cosponsors. It has 18 Republican cosponsors, and I thank them individually and by name: Senators Blunt, Boozman, Brown of Massachusetts, Chambliss, Cochran, Collins, Crapo, Grassley, Heller, Hutchison, Isakson, Kirk, Lugar, Moran, Murkowski, Rubio, Snowe, and Wicker, in addition to all my Democratic cosponsors. This is a bill that also has the support of the American Cancer Society, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the Lung Cancer Alliance, and the American Association for Medical Research, as well as the American Association of Medical Colleges.…”