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Wide-Ranging Health Sciences Bill Goes To Vote In Senate

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The U.S. Senate is set to vote Monday afternoon on whether to end debate over a massive 900-page bill aimed at modernizing medical research. Massachusetts has large biotech, pharma, medical devices and basic research sectors, so the bill matters a lot around here. But maybe you hadn't heard of it until a week ago, when Sen. Elizabeth Warren stood on the Senate floor and thundered against the legislation.

"In the closing days of this Congress," Warren said, "Big Pharma has its hand out for a bunch of special giveaways and favors that are packed together in something called the 21st Century Cures bill."

In fact, Warren herself worked on the bill for the past two years. She wrote parts of the $6.3 billion legislation. But when the latest version of the bill was quietly released by Republicans over Thanksgiving weekend, Warren was outraged.

Guests

Victoria McGrane, national political correspondent for The Boston Globe. She tweets @vgmac.

Robert Coughlin, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, which tweets @MassBio.

This segment aired on December 5, 2016.

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