Mike Enzi: “I rise at this moment to support the substitute that has been put into S. 1082, the Food and Drug Administration…”

“I rise at this moment to support the substitute that has been put into S. 1082, the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act. I have said a lot about this important bill, and I do intend to say more. The most important thing I can say right now is this is the product of a lot of bipartisan work by members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. We have a great process that wound up with a work in progress, which wound up with this substitute bill. Now we do have one major outstanding issue to figure out; that is, the direct consumer advertising for prescription drugs. I do believe we will work something out, but we are not quite there yet. So I would ask my colleagues' indulgence to work that out, and I hope I have the assurance of the chairman that we will engage in a serious dialog about the various provisions that are included in that direct consumer issue. That will be a real key to finishing up. I congratulate the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, for the outstanding way he and his staff have worked with all the Members on our side of the aisle to clear up.”