Political Quotes

“I rise to extend in many ways the comments made by the Senator from Utah. At the outset, I not only express my respect and admiration for his eloquent remarks, but also for the tremendous commitment he has shown on this particular issue over the last 20 years, especially with the Hatch-Waxman law which for the last 18 years has achieved so much for the benefit of the American people. The Senator from Utah has shown a commitment and has shown real foresight, in sponsoring and authoring--along with other colleagues in this body--the original Hatch-Waxman bill in his eloquent analysis of the legislation before us, as has been modified and improved markedly in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He has also provided an excellent analysis of the underlying McCain-Schumer bill and some of the deficiencies he sees within this legislation. After listening to his remarks, I think the underlying message was the real beauty in this legislation and in the original Hatch-Waxman legislation in achieving a sense of balance between the brand pharmaceutical companies and what they achieve through research and development, creativity and innovation, that balance with the growth and the appropriate incentives given to the generic community, where we know that cost-effectiveness has been demonstrated and needs to continue to be demonstrated as we move forward.”