Political Quotes

“I rise today to once again express my extreme disbelief and disappointment that the U.S. Senate will vote to confirm Dr. Robert M. Califf to yet again lead the Food and Drug Administration. My opposition is nothing new. In fact, it was exactly 5 years ago next week that I came to the Senate floor to urge my colleagues to oppose Dr. Califf's nomination to serve under then- President Obama in this same role. In the 5 years since Dr. Califf was confirmed, more than 400,000 Americans and 5,000 West Virginians have died from a drug-related overdose. And 2020 was the deadliest year on record for drug-related overdoses, when 1,386 West Virginians and nearly 95,000 Americans died from a drug-related overdose. That number is just increasing, with over 100,000 Americans having died from overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021. Let's not beat around the bush: Dr. Califf bears a great deal of responsibility for these deaths. We have a luxury with this nomination that we are not usually granted. Because Dr. Califf has already served as the FDA Commissioner, we have insight into how he will lead the Agency. During Dr. Califf's previous tenure, drug-related overdoses went up. Five years later, they are up again--and this time at record numbers. In fact, despite his pledge to overhaul the FDA's policy, during his tenure and immediately following it, the FDA approved five new opiates for market. In that same time, they removed only one. The wise Dr.…”