May 3, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 939

manager of the Food Basket Supermarket, the

family owned forerunner of Food Circus.

Mrs. Scaduto, a delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention and alternate

delegate at the 1988 convention, has had a

long history of activity in Republican politics in

New Jersey.

She has been president of the New Jersey

Federation of Women since 1991 after serving

in a number of roles in the organization, including vice president, corresponding secretary and member of the Board of Governors.

Her dedication has allowed her to serve on

countless Federation committees and chair

numerous events. She is a State committeewoman for Monmouth County and has served

on the committees of Kapalko for Congress

and Azzolina for Congress. She is a former

president and vice president of the Women’s

Republican Club of Middletown and a current

member of Women of the 1990’s. Mrs.

Scaduto also chaired a number of special

events and dinners, including a 1989 luncheon

for our former colleague, the late Millicent

Fenwick.

Despite the long hours involved in supporting the Republican Party, Mrs. Scaduto has

also found time for civic activities. She is a

member of the Georgian Court College Advisory Council and the Central Jersey chapter of

the March of Dimes. She was presented the

Community Service Award by the Middletown

Area Chamber of Commerce in 1994 and the

Women of Leadership Award by the Monmouth Girl Scouts in 1993, among many other

awards. She has been active in Girl Scouts

leadership since her days as Brownie troop

leader in the 1960’s.

With no end to her energy and enthusiasm,

she is also the wife of Louis Scaduto, the

mother of 4 children and grandmother of 11.

Grace Scaduto is truly and example to us

all. Her service to society in all its aspects—

family, politics and community—has been inspirational. I thank her for all she has done

and wish her well in all that she does in the

future.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORPHAN

DRUG RESEARCH

f

HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON OF CONNECTICUT

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today, along with

my distinguished senior colleague from the

Ways and Means Committee, ROBERT MATSUI,

the Orphan Drug Tax Credit Amendments of

1995.

In 1983, the Congress enacted legislation

that granted a tax credit for the clinical testing

of drugs used to treat rare diseases with limited commercial potential, commonly referred

to as orphan drugs. This legislation, in conjunction with orphan drug market exclusivity,

has been successful in encouraging the type

of narrow research critical to finding answers

to the many questions posed by rare diseases. Currently, there are approximately 600

drugs that have received orphan drug designation and more than 100 of those have

been approved for marketing. Because of the

orphan drug legislation, we now have drugs to

treat such diseases as cystic fibrosis, hepatitis

B, multiple sclerosis, renal cell carcinoma, and

pituitary dwarfism.

The bill we are introducing today would

make two significant changes to the orphan

drug tax credit:

First, it would make the orphan drug tax

credit, which expired at the end of last year,

permanent. Uncertainty over the future of the

tax credit has caused a significant decline in

the investment of capital in the biotechnology

industry.

Second, this bill would allow companies to

carry the tax credit back or forward pursuant

to section 39 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Most of the companies engaged in research of

orphan drugs do not qualify for the tax credit.

Under current law, a company can only claim

a credit against their current year tax liability.

Since most companies involved in orphan

drug research are biotechnology firms that are

still developing and have yet to market a product, they have no tax liability against which to

claim the tax credit. This structural change

would allow a developing company, such as a

biotechnology firm, to use the tax credit at

such time that it had a tax liability.

I am pleased to note that this bill is endorsed by both the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents the biotechnology

industry, and the National Organization for

Rare Disorders, Inc. [NORD], the primary nonprofit organization representing patients with

rare diseases.

I commend this bill to my colleagues and

look forward to its prompt approval by the

Congress.

A TRIBUTE TO THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO LOST THEIR

fLIVES IN OKLAHOMA CITY

HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA OF MARYLAND

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, it is with

great sadness that I rise to honor the dedicated Federal employees who lost their lives

in bomb blast at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal

Building in Oklahoma City. We will long remember these civil servants who paid the

highest price for their commitment to public

service.

One such dedicated public servant killed in

the bomb blast was Secret Service agent Alan

Whicher. Agent Whicher was a native of Maryland and lived in the town of Rockville, MD,

until last October when he was transferred to

Oklahoma City. While he was in Washington,

Alan Whicher was assigned to protect the

President. The transfer to America’s heartland

was viewed as a safer and less hectic assignment.

Alan Whicher was brought back home to

Maryland to be buried. A wake was held at St.

Patrick’s Catholic Church in Rockville, where

he stopped each morning before he went to

work. Former neighbors, relatives, and colleagues poured into the church to pay their

last respects.

President Clinton and First Lady Hillary

Rodham Clinton attended the funeral. Alan

Whicher was described by his former neighbors and friends as a man who cared deeply

about his community. He was a loving husband to his wife, Pamela, and he was a devoted father to his three children. One of his

last acts was to call his wife, who was about

to give a speech at their new church, to offer

encouragement and to wish her well.

Alan Whicher was a hero. All of the Federal

employees who died in the ugly bomb blast in

Oklahoma City were heroes. They were Americans who worked hard in unglamorous jobs to

improve the quality of life for others. They

were men and women who upheld the virtues

of thrift and hard work to achieve economic

independence. Their lives will not have been

in vain if we can translate what happened in

Oklahoma City into something that brings the

whole country together.

A TRIBUTE TO AMANDA SHANKLE

fHON. BUD SHUSTER OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

congratulate Amanda Shankle on being selected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the

United States and its Ladies Auxiliary as the

winner of the Voice of Democracy broadcast

scriptwriting contest. Amanda is a 17-year-old

constituent of mine and resides in Schellsburg,

PA.

Amanda has written an extraordinary essay

and deserves much praise for winning such a

competitive contest. Her work shows insights

into her subject matter and solid command of

the English language. I would ask that all of

my colleagues join me in offering a warm congratulations to Amanda for her excellent work.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would also ask

that Amanda’s essay be reprinted in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD so that all of my colleagues will have access to her fine work.

MY VISION FOR AMERICA

(By Amanda Shankle)

A vision is something seen in a dream, the

vivid product of the imagination’s power. My

vision of America is the dream of a powerful

nation, confident, united, and proud. It is a

dream that exists only because of the thousands of brave men and women who fought

for America’s freedom, who sacrificed so that

I might have the opportunity to express and

to achieve my dream. Because of them I

awake each day knowing that my future

stands before me, alluring, exhilarating, and

full of hope and promise.

But I also know that if my children are to

awaken to that same dream, it is my responsibility to work to achieve it, to ensure that

my vision for America becomes a reality. I

must work for a country whose natural environment is not wasted by ignorance, greed or

neglect, but preserved to support future generations. I must work for a nation in which

people care for, and help one another, a nation that rests on a strong spiritual foundation of tolerance and faith, where all persons

are treated with dignity, justice and respect.

I dream of an America whose leaders put

the good of their people first, before party

loyalty or personal gain; an America where

no child goes to bed hungry, and no family is

without a home. I dream of an America

where the right to medical treatment and

health care is basic; where no one has to suffer because they cannot afford the help they

need.

I must work for a country where crime,

drugs, and violence are the rare exception

rather than the common rule, and I know

that to achieve that dream I must support