mr. pitts. mr. pitts: i rise in support of another bipartisan bill, s. 252, the prematurity research, expansion and for mothers who deliver earl yes hy a would take important steps to improve children's health, particularly the health of the nearly 500,000 children born prematurely in the united states every year. since its passage in 2006, the preemie act has sponsored important research that has led to improve prevention and care of children born too early. this bill re-authorizes research and activities at the c.d.c. related to the causes of preterm birth, improving data collection and preventing preterm births. it creates an advisory committee on infant mortality to coordinate federal, state and private programs that address preterm birth. with one in every eight infants born in the united states prematurely, this is a pressing issue. s. 252 also authorizes the creation of the national pediatric research network, a proven way to support research by coordinating research activities, includin

pitt. >> reporter: mr.rkable, so hard to reconcile, he is still just a man. >> action! >> reporter: the myth and the man hollywood attempts to capture in mandela, long walk to freed freedom. >> what surprised you most in playing this iconic figure? >> it was always rooted, very rooted man, though all of the stuff was going on around him. he never really lost his cool. >> most people know, nelson mandela, the elder statesman. you play nelson mandela, a player if you will. early in his life. you know, very much a -- a man with -- >> you talk about responsibility. that's one of the things i have to pay attention to. we were given the task to go ahead and make that as real as possible on the screen. you know, being a lady's man, a man that was not humble. and very am bish us ambitious m. >> these are factors you can't even, put in the same sentence, mr. mandela the older statesman. >> this 41-year-old british actor, a role of a lifetime and early whispers of an oscar nomination. >> reporter: at times heroic, ha

pitts. >> and mrs. kennedy. >> when they arrived in dallas, mrs. kennedy was given red roses.or texas. >> governor and mrs. conley ride in the presidential limousine. >> my grandmother and grandfather were in the limousine with mr. and mrs. kennedy. things seemed to be going, very, well. >> as the car turned, she stepped out into the street. hey, mr. president, look over here. we want to take your picture. >> they are too young to have their own memories of what happened that day. >>> my grandfather was working at parkland hospital on november 22, 1963. >> but for the grandchildren of the people who were closest, november 22nd, 1963, was not just a tragic day in our collective history. >> my grandfather is most famously known as the man in the white stetson. they come out the doors. the flood lights hit. >> reporter: it is deeply personal. a family story of what was lost and what was learned. >> the usual welcoming committee. >> for governor conley and his wife, the president's visit was a chance to show off texas. >> i think there was nervous anticipation about hosting a pres

. >> mr. pitts, chairman of the health committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, madam secretary. have you personally tried to register or enroll on the website? >> sir, i created an early light account so i would see the prompts that were coming to people who were interested. i did work my way to the application feature fairly early on, but frankly, i have affordable health care, so i -- >> i wondered if you have been through the process that millions of americans are having to go through. madam secretary, the initial website crashes appear to be largely a result of the decision to prevent browsing of the plans. cgi federal testified at our hearing last week that they had designed the website to allow users to browse and compare plans before having to create an account. ms. campbell told us that two weeks prior to the october 1st launch, they were told to turn off the browsing feature. were you aware in september that this decision was made? >> sir, i wasn't aware of that particular decision that was made by the cms team. i was aware that we were pearing

mr. boyd's questions. >> i'm looking at you now. i don't see too much of brad pitt in you. >> oh, i'm hurt that you say that. >> you are more handsome than brad pitt. >> i was fishing for that, i guess. >> reporter: 21 years and nearly 8,000 cases, walker was on the verge of retiring in 2010. but not before the one case that would define his career. >> prop 8 issue came across your desk, and i'm going to clean it up for tv purposes, but i believe it was, oh, blank moment for you. you can fill in the blanks if you'd like. >> well, there was an oh, blank moment, but that's a country expression that as a country boy i used. >> do you embrace your role in the history of all of this now? >> do i embrace it? >> yeah. >> well, it was what it was. the case was dealt to me right off the wheel. purely at random. and, obviously it was an important case. i do think in retrospect that the decision to conduct a trial was the right decision because it brought forth issues. it brought forth facts in a way that could never have been brought forth in just an appellate-type proceeding

mr. pallone, for an opening statement. >> thank you, chairman pitts, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today. i'm eager to hear your testimony about pda's progress in implementing the -- fda's progress in implementing the act. over one year ago it was signed into law, and among other things designed to promote timely fda review of drugs, medical devices, generic drugs and biological products through the collection of user fees. it both renewed existing fda user fee programs for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and established new programs for generic drugs and lower cost versions of biotech drugs. the user fees are an essential component of the if fda's funding -- fda's funding. they help to insure the american public has access to safe and effective health care products. for generics at the time of enact amount, there was a backlog of over 2500 drugs. these essential products typically cost 50-70% less than their brand name counterparts and have provided an estimated $1 trillion in savings over the past decade. it's important that american consumers have access to

mr. speaker, i want to commend chairman upton and subcommittee chairman pitts for bringing this bill so expeditiously to the floor and i would hope that we can have a unanimous vote in support of it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, the gentleman will not get a unanimous vote. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. levin -- to the running backing -- ranking member of the ways and means committee, soon to be chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan voiced for three minutes -- is recognized for three minutes. mr. levin: mr. speaker, the republicans are on a mission of destruction. nothing will satisfy them except that very mission. the upton bill is another weapon in that mission. what the republicans fear most of all is that the health care reform will eventually work. the upton bill is a bill to make sure that it does not work. the president has taken a step to help people keep their policies. the upton bill opens the door to

mr. speaker, i want to commend chairman upton and subcommittee chairman pitts for bringing this bill so expeditiously to the floor and i would hope that we can have a unanimous vote in support of it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, the gentleman will not get a unanimous vote. at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. levin -- to the running backing -- ranking member of the ways and means committee, soon to be chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan voiced for three minutes -- is recognized for three minutes. mr. levin: mr. speaker, the republicans are on a mission of destruction. nothing will satisfy them except that very mission. the upton bill is another weapon in that mission. what the republicans fear most of all is that the health care reform will eventually work. the upton bill is a bill to make sure that it does not work. the president has taken a step to help people keep their policies. the upton bill opens the door to