Political Quotes

“I have to come to the floor, though, saying it is frustrating for me as a Member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations that it took a year to get the bill from the House floor back to the House floor in the form of a conference agreement, since time is very much of the essence. Also I want to tell a story. About a year ago, when I brought 'Buy America' provisions to the floor trying to insert them in this legislation, received assurances from Secretary Thompson and the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin) that every effort would be made to buy America where possible in all of the implementation of not just Bioshield, but all of the different treatments and antidotes that fall under Bioshield or not. Then later in the fall I had an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services in my office, and I spoke about the treatment for a radiation event and how that was going to be procured. It is called Prussian Blue, and I was told that that was still in the process of being competed. Little did anyone know in the room under this interagency working group that a month earlier, an exclusive contract had already been committed to procure Prussian Blue and fill up our stockpiles to a German company.”