He represents a state 3,000 miles away, but it is safe to say that U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin has a constituency in San Diego. At a Senate hearing today Cardin said he would fight for more funding for small biotechs, according to this story in the Baltimore Business Journal.
Specifically, Cardin wants 2.5 percent — or $229 million — of the $10.4 billion that the National Institutes of Health will get as part of the stimulus package to go to early-stage life science companies.
That is no doubt a popular proposal in San Diego, which is home to about 700 life science companies, most of which are small businesses.