Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as to the Durbin amendment, I want people to understand what we are trying to do. There is $900 million spent on medical research in the Department of Defense. All we are asking is that the money being spent be related to the defense needs of this country. Of that $900 million, probably two thirds of the research money will not pass the test of being related to the Defense Department. If you care about the men and women in uniform--which we all do--that is probably $600 million or $700 million to help a military that is in decline. In terms of research dollars, I have worked with Senators Durbin, Alexander, and Blunt to increase NIH funding. This idea of taking money out of the Defense Department's budget to do medical research unrelated to the defense needs of this country needs to stop because the military is under siege. We have the smallest Navy since 1915 and the smallest Army since 1940. If we really want to reform the way things are done up here, this is a good start. To those programs that don't make the cut in DOD, we will have to find another place. If they make sense, I will help you find another place. To those medical research items that survive the cut, they are going to have to go through the normal contracting procedure to make sure we are doing it competitively. I don't think that is too much to ask. If you want things to change in Washington, somebody has to start the process of change.…”