Obama Remarks on Economic Stimulus at the NIH

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Please have a seat.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Francis, thank you for the extraordinary introduction.

I want to echo what has just been said about my secretary of HHS. She is, I just think, outstanding. She hit the ground running. And with all the burdens that she carries, she always has a sense of fun and energy, and is just good to be around.

So please give Kathleen Sebelius a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to acknowledge that we are in Congressman Chris Van Hollen's district, Democrat from Maryland. And Chris is here and a great supporter of NIH historically. We are very grateful for him.

And we are so happy to have Senator Arlen Specter, who is directly responsible for so much of the funding for NIH research. He is a huge champion for your cause. I know you already gave him a round -- rousing round of applause, but I just want to echo what a great job he's been doing and what a great partner he's been.

Finally, somebody who's not here but deserves a little credit is my vice president, Joe Biden, who is managing the stimulus process.

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