WASHINGTON — In a major blow to the effort to pass a federal “right-to-try” law, House Republicans failed to muster the votes to pass a key compromise measure Tuesday.
The legislation was rejected by a vote of 259-140. The bill needed two-thirds majority to pass under suspension of rules.
The vote was an embarrassing defeat not only for House Republicans but for President Trump, who had called on Congress to quickly pass right-to-try legislation, and Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime supporter of the effort. It was also a rare misstep from Speaker Paul Ryan, who like most congressional leaders almost never schedules votes on legislation without some certainty that the given measure has the support to pass.
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I am disappointed at such short sighted thinking. Let’s take ALS (Lou Gehrig’s) for example. It has been known to exist since 1824 and is a 100% fatal disease. Ninety percent of afflicted patients die within 48 months of initial diagnosis. Purely on theoretical grounds I am of the opinion that repetitive plasmapheresis will prolong the life of afflicted patients. I make the heretical proposal that a liver transplant may well give an ALS patient a more normal life expectancy. Please see; http://www.Liver-Brain Theory.com
I am a stage iv caregiver who has seen first – hand the small , slow , so – called ” compassionate ” use law that RTT opponents defend . 2500 reuqests a year granted by the FDA is pathetically low , and doesn’t tell the story of thousands of pt.’s who cannot get through the bureaucracy. None of the opponents have ever tried to get compassionate use. Someday some of them may have a loved one trying to get one of these life saving drugs. Then they will see….
Apparently not a single person who voted against this has a loved-one with a terminal illness. Nor do they have any compassion for dying people who are out of options. My wife is terminally ill. I will make sure I know the names of everyone who voted against this and I will vote accordingly in the future, since reelection is all you really care about. You are killing people with your vote against this. Beautiful, beloved people, like my wife, will die without the chance this legislation could have given them. God have the kind of mercy on your souls that you did not show these dying people.