[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 88 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1211-E1212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 10, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under

[[Page E1212]]

     consideration the bill (H.R. 4461) making appropriations for 
     Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, 
     and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2001, and for other purposes:

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Chairman, I rise today against this 
amendment which will prohibit the FDA from testing, developing, or 
approving any drug that could cause an abortion.
  I often come to the House floor to note that this would be the 147th 
vote on choice since the beginning of the 104th Congress. But this vote 
is about so much more than abortion. It is truly a chilling attack on 
biomedical research.
  We are legislators, we are not scientists. Political mandates have no 
place in interfering with the FDA's sound and rigorous scientific drug 
approval process.
  Approval of this amendment would be the beginning of a slippery slope 
where some Members of Congress hold the health of all Americans 
hostage. Allowing Congress to dictate which drugs the FDA can and 
cannot test could halt the process of testing drugs that have nothing 
to do with abortion.
  The target of this amendment, mifepristone or RU-486, has potential 
uses for the treatment of breast cancer, endometriosis, and even 
glaucoma. In fact, this kind of drug--an antiprogestin--was originally 
being developed for its cancer treatment potential.
  I tell you, if RU-486 was only a cancer treatment, this researcher 
would have won a Nobel prize, and I bet the drug would already have 
been approved. Instead, because of its pregnancy disruption use, the 
drug has been held hostage by the right wing.
  If this amendment passes, it would prevent further testing of drugs 
such as mifepristone that have the potential to treat millions of 
Americans for other medical conditions.
  Delaying this drug is not an option. Think of what this will do to 
women with fibroid tumors. Think of what this will do to seniors with 
glaucoma. Think of what this will do to people with brain tumors.
  And even worse, there is a very dangerous precedent being set today. 
Even those who disagree about whether RU-486 should or should not be 
approved, should be highly concerned by the precedent being set by this 
outrageous amendment.
  Congress established the Food and Drug Administration to be an 
independent agency to test and approve drugs and devices. We should 
allow them to do their work without interference from the Congress. 
Science, not abortion politics, should dictate the type of drugs the 
FDA tests.
  I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

                          ____________________