Keller @ Large: Sen. Elizabeth Warren On Why She Opposed Cures Act
BOSTON (CBS) -- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said she was proud of the work that Democrats and Republicans did together on the 21st Century Cures Act, a major medical-research bill--but she wanted more.
"The one overarching [provision] that I kept pushing for was there must be more funding for the national institutes of health, medical research," she said. "That's the way you really get cures."
Sen. Warren sat down with WBZ political analyst Jon Keller last week, and explained to him why she eventually came to oppose the bill.
"After the election, the House snatched the bill back, it took out almost all the NIH funding, added in a bunch of giveaways to the pharmaceutical industry, to the tobacco industry of all things, to big donors, and it took some opioid money and said the incoming administration will decide to spend it wherever they want to spend it."
More: Keller @ Large: Elizabeth Warren Pushes Back On Unprecedented Wave Of Criticism
Though a majority of her fellow Democrats voted to pass the bill, Warren said it was important to her to keep fighting for what she believes in.
"There just comes a time when you stick your stick in the ground and say, 'No, that's not right.' I came here to fight for medical research funding, not to fight for big giveaways for Big Pharma and opioid money that's never going to come to Massachusetts," Warren said.
The two also discussed Warren being appointed to the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as what she thinks of the criticism being leveled against her.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.