Mike Enzi: “I rise to speak on the promise of genomics. "Dazzling thrilling astonishing breathtaking". Even for a group given to…”

“I rise to speak on the promise of genomics. "Dazzling thrilling astonishing breathtaking". Even for a group given to hyperbolic speech, the language my colleagues used in this Chamber 2 years ago to describe advances in human genetics is both extraordinarily intense and factually accurate. Little has changed since 2003. Indeed, little has changed in the 9 years we have been considering this legislation. What remains the same is that the tremendous promise of this fundamental scientific advance remains incompletely realized. I am truly concerned that, at the very time in healthcare that we need innovation the most, we tacitly accept limitations on the application of this "tremendously powerful tool." It is vital to understand that we have hurtled forward, over a remarkably short period of time, into an entirely new era of medical practice, one the majority leader believes will be characterized by "advances . . . more dramatic than any . . . I had the opportunity to . . . participate in over twenty years in . . . medicine".”