The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PORKER OF THE WEEK AWARD” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1289 on March 23, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PORKER OF THE WEEK AWARD
(Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, last week the world watched as five cloned piglets were introduced before an international news core. Scientists cheered the achievement as a scientific and medical breakthrough. Maybe the American people should have cheered as well since we paid for a good bit of that research with $2 million of our tax dollars.
The Advanced Technology Program, a corporate welfare program managed by the Department of Commerce, gave a grant to the company responsible for cloning the piglets. The company, PPL Therapeutics, claims it needs taxpayer assistance because it cannot find private backing for cloning research. It will certainly be interesting to see if that company shares its profits with the American taxpayers now that they have found success.
In this modern-day nursery rhyme, five little piggies got cloned, and the American public got taken to market. The ATP gets my ``Porker of the Week'' Award.
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