A proposal to allow terminally ill patients the “right to try” experimental treatments was blocked in the Senate, giving Republicans and Democrats one last chance to trade barbs before officially hitting the campaign trail for the home stretch of the election.
“Patients with terminal diseases, like other Americans, want the chance to live to see their children’s graduations, walk their daughters down the aisle, play with their grandchildren and grow old with their spouses,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Wednesday while touting the bill on the Senate floor.
“They ought to have a right to access treatments that have been proven safe and could potentially save their lives.”
So the Wisconsin Republican, one of the most vulnerable lawmakers up for re-election this year, asked for unanimous consent to pass the right-to-try bill. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., objected to the fast-track maneuver, citing the lack of a proper hearing to air out the details of the legislation.
“I understand the urgency that patients and families feel when they’re desperate for new treatments,” Reid said. “Virtually every one of the Republicans are co-sponsors, but not Democrats. Why? Because, first of all, we’ve asked that there be a hearing on this bill. Nope, don’t have time for a hearing.
“So it hasn’t been through the committee processes we were promised we would have with the outstanding issues dealing with this policy. There are major players in this that simply have not had an opportunity to tell us what’s wrong with the bill.”
Johnson’s office disputed Reid’s characterization. They noted that the Food and Drug Administration participated in a hearing on the legislation last week — though the hearing was not convened by the committee with jurisdiction over the issue — and that two Senate Democrats co-sponsored the bill
They also noted that Reid objected to the passage of another Johnson bill in March, when Reid faulted McConnell for trying to give “a senator running for re-election” the chance to amend an opioid crisis bill.
“It is beyond disappointing that Sen. Reid would ignore the pleas of those with terminal illnesses to score a political point,” Johnson said after Reid lodged his objection. “Matt Bellina, a retired Navy fighter pilot and soon-to-be dad who suffers from ALS, and others with terminal illnesses just want the right to try to save their own lives.”
Reid’s team countered that it was the embattled Wisconsin Republican who was trying to score a last-minute political victory.
“This is a cheap stunt — if Sen. Johnson wants to bring his bill to the floor, he should follow regular order and go through the committee process,” Reid’s deputy chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, told the Washington Examiner. “Sen. Johnson’s actions today show that he’d rather phone it in than put in the hard work necessary to get things done.”
The lame-duck session negotiations over funding the government might give Johnson one more opportunity to pass the bill, whether he wins or loses in November. “[Patients] should have the right to hope,” he said Wednesday. “I will continue to do everything in my power to make sure this right is recognized and respected.”
