{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-us-senate-protect-terminal-patients-access-treatment/", "Dr. Rand Paul to US Senate: Protect Terminal Patients\u2019 Access to Treatment", "2016-09-27", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul called for the passage of U.S. Senator Ron Johnson\u2019s (R-WI) S. 2912, the Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act, to prevent the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from interfering with \u201cRight to Try\u201d laws that 31 states have adopted. Right to Try allows patients suffering from a terminal illness to use treatments, under a doctor\u2019s supervision, that have not yet received the FDA\u2019s final approval.\n\n\u201cAs a physician, I believe that treatment is decided best between a doctor and a patient and not through a slow-moving bureaucracy in Washington, D.C., especially when every moment matters in facing a terminal illness,\u201d said Dr. Paul. \u201cAs we work on streamlining the FDA\u2019s approval process, I urge my colleagues to pass Senator Johnson\u2019s common-sense bill that respects states\u2019 actions on expanding treatment access.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany of us have felt that sense of desperation \u2014 of urgency \u2014 when we learn that someone we love is fighting for their life,\u201d said Sen. Johnson. \u201cIn 2014, I met with a brave Wisconsin woman, Trickett Wendler, who was fighting ALS. Trickett passed away last year, but her spirit and her fight are among the reasons I am passionate about this issue \u2014 because I know that today, and every day, millions of Americans are fighting similar life-and-death battles to save themselves and their loved ones. For Trickett, and for countless others facing terminal illnesses, now is the time to give more patients a chance to save their lives \u2014 to give them hope. I\u2019m thankful to Senator Paul for his support and hope my colleagues in the Senate will join with their support for this important, bipartisan bill.\u201d\n\nDr. Paul cosponsored S. 2912 and spoke at a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing examining the legislation last Thursday. Senator Johnson serves as chairman of the committee.\n\nBelow, you can find video of Dr. Paul\u2019s remarks and background information on the bill.\n\nCLICK HERE TO WATCH DR. PAUL AT THURSDAY\u2019S HSGAC HEARING\n\nBackground on S. 2912:\n\nNamed in honor of Trickett Wendler, who passed away in March 2015 after battling ALS;\n\nProvides a potential lifeline for terminally ill patients without undoing the FDA\u2019s approval process;\n\nRequires physician certification that other options are exhausted or not available, maintaining incentives for patients to seek out and join clinical trials;\n\nRequires products to have completed Phase 1 (safety) testing by the FDA;\n\nEnsures adverse outcomes are not used against a company\u2019s ongoing application for approval;\n\nPrevents additional liability for patients, doctors, and manufacturers.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T21:01:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-us-senate-protect-terminal-patients-access-treatment/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9755510836839676, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}