Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I too wish to thank the Senator from Tennessee, as he referred to how we are working together on a bipartisan basis on the Better Pharmaceuticals and Devices for Children Act--a very critical piece of this legislation that I will talk about in just a few minutes as well. But I would like to thank him for working with us, and really I want to thank all of the Senators who worked very hard on this piece of legislation, working with stakeholders and advocates for over a year on the bill that will be on the floor later this afternoon. I commend Chairman Harkin as well as Ranking Member Enzi for working together in a bipartisan fashion to get this to the floor today. I hope all of our colleagues really understand the critical importance of moving forward with this bill as efficiently as possible because, as many people know, if we do not make this legislation a priority, by the end of September over 2,000 employees at the Food and Drug Administration are going to be sent packing with pink slips. But what is just as important, if not more important, is that failure to pass this legislation will put drug and medical device approval at a standstill. That will not only halt innovation but it will put the lives of many Americans at risk while they wait for potentially lifesaving medicine. No one knows the importance of that more than Seattle Genetics, a company in my home State of Washington.…”