{"id":60374,"date":"2018-05-30T22:40:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=60374"},"modified":"2018-05-30T22:40:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T05:40:43","slug":"president-trump-at-s-204-right-to-try-bill-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=60374","title":{"rendered":"President Trump at S.204, \u201cRight to Try\u201d Bill Signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you very much, everybody.  I really appreciate it.  This is \u2014 to me, this is a very important moment, a very important day.  Been looking forward to this for a long time, along with Senator Ron Johnson.  And I will tell you, we worked hard on this.  I never understood why it was hard.  They\u2019ve been trying to have it passed for years.  I never understood why.  Because I\u2019d see people \u2014 friends of mine, and other people I\u2019d read about, where they\u2019d travel all over the world looking for a cure.  And we have the best medical people in the world, but we have trials and we long time \u2014 12 years, 15 years.  Even when things look really promising, so many years.  And I never understood why they didn\u2019t do this.  And we worked very hard.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uKf5s2DKMa0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>And I want to thank Vice President Pence for helping us so much.  Mike was in there, and I\u2019d say, \u201cMike, how we doing?  We got to get it approved.\u201d  And he was \u2014 he was really working it.  And in my State of the Union Address, four months ago, I called on Congress to pass Right to Try.  It\u2019s such a great name.  Some bills, they don\u2019t have a good name.  (Laughter.)  Okay?  They really don\u2019t.  But this is such a great name, from the first day I heard it.  It\u2019s so perfect.  Right to Try.<\/p>\n<p>And a lot of that trying is going to be successful.  I really believe that.  I really believe it.<\/p>\n<p>So we did it.  And we went through the Senate, we went through the House.  The House had a bill.  The Senate had a bill.  We\u2019d go and mesh them together.  We got to go back and take votes.  And I said, do me a favor \u2014 tell me, which is the better bill for the people?  Not for the insurance company, not for the pharmaceutical companies.  I don\u2019t care about them.  I really don\u2019t.  I couldn\u2019t care less.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s the bill I \u2014 I won\u2019t tell you which one.  But I took the one that was \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 they said one in particular was great for the people.  Not so good for the others, but great for the people.  We don\u2019t care about the others right now.  And it\u2019s giving terminally ill patients the right to try experimental lifesaving treatments.  And some of these treatments are so promising.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re moving that timeline way up anyway, beyond this.  We\u2019re moving it way up.  But it\u2019s still a process that takes years.  Now it takes up to 15 years; even 20 years, some of these treatments are going.  But for many years, patients, advocates, and lawmakers have fought for this fundamental freedom.  And as I said, incredibly, they couldn\u2019t get it.  And there were reasons.  A lot of it was business.  A lot of it was pharmaceuticals.  A lot of it was insurance.  A lot of it was liability.  I said, so you take care of that stuff.  And that\u2019s what we did.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019m proud to keep another promise to the American people as I sign the Right to Try legislation into law.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Right?  (Speaks to participant on stage.)  You\u2019re so beautiful.  So beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>If I looked like that, I would have been President 10 years earlier.  (Laughter.)  If I had that face, if I had that head of hair, I would have been President so long ago.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s great.<\/p>\n<p>So I want to thank a couple of people.  Secretary Azar is here.  Where\u2019s the Secretary?  Secretary?  Please stand up.  You have worked so hard on this.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  You\u2019ve really done a great job.  And we\u2019re going to have another exciting news conference over the next, what, three weeks?  Four weeks?  Two weeks?  What do you think?  On healthcare.  We\u2019re going to have great healthcare.  We\u2019ll get rid of the individual mandate.  Without that, we couldn\u2019t be doing what we\u2019re doing in a few weeks.  We\u2019re going to have great, inexpensive, but really good healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>And we have two plans coming out.  We also have, through our great Secretary of Labor, we have a great plan coming out, and that\u2019s through associations.  We\u2019re going to have two plans coming out.  For the most part, we will have gotten rid of a majority of Obamacare.  Gotten tremendous \u2014 (applause) \u2014 yeah.  Could have had it done a little bit easier, but somebody decided not to vote for it, so it\u2019s one of those things.<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank Secretary Azar, and I want to thank Commissioner Gottlieb.  Where\u2019s Scott?  Scott, stand up.  (Applause.)  Ooh, I like those \u2014 I like those socks, Scott.  And, Scott, let me ask you.  So it takes years and years to get this approved, right?  You\u2019re bringing down \u2014 beyond this, you\u2019re bringing down that period of time.  What is the average time now it takes for, you know, a major medicine or cure?  What\u2019s the average time it takes to go through the system and get an approval?<\/p>\n<p>COMMISSIONER GOTTLIEB:  Depends on the medicine.  Probably three to seven years.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Three to seven.  And some go long over 10, right?<\/p>\n<p>COMMISSIONER GOTTLIEB:  Some can go much longer.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  And you\u2019re bringing that down?  You\u2019re trying to bring that down?  You know, for safety.  Very good.  And you, in particular, you\u2019re very happy with this.  Aren\u2019t you?<\/p>\n<p>COMMISSIONER GOTTLIEB:  We are.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  You have a lot of good things in the wings that, frankly, if you moved them up, a lot of people would have a great shot.  Right?<\/p>\n<p>COMMISSIONER GOTTLIEB:  We\u2019re trying to get (inaudible), Mr. President, under your leadership.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Right.  That\u2019s fantastic.  Well, thank you, Scott.  We\u2019re very proud of the job you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also working very hard in getting the cost of medicine down.  And I think people are going to see, for the first time ever in this country, a major drop in the cost of prescription drugs.  Right?  (Applause.)  And, Mr. Secretary, that\u2019s already happening.  Right?  That\u2019s already happening.  You were telling me yesterday that we\u2019re seeing a big \u2014 a tremendous improvement.  And you\u2019re going to have some big news.  I think we\u2019re going to have some big \u2014 some of the big drug companies in two weeks.  And they\u2019re going to announce \u2014 because of what we did, they\u2019re going to announce voluntary massive drops in prices.  So that\u2019s great.  That\u2019s going to be a fantastic thing.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we\u2019re working on some really great things.  Aren\u2019t we?  When you think about it.  Ron, pretty good.  Huh?  We could do some of those \u2014 healthcare, drug prices.  But this is the baby.  Right now.<\/p>\n<p>We would not be here today without the tireless efforts of dedicated members of Congress.  That\u2019s so true.  I want to especially thank Senator Ron Johnson \u2014 stand up please, Ron \u2014 (applause) \u2014 for his tremendous leadership.  You know, I just tell you, he doesn\u2019t stop.  He doesn\u2019t give up.  You know, it\u2019s good.  It\u2019s good for all of us.  This guy, Ron, very capable, very \u2014 he just doesn\u2019t give up.  So when we started working, I knew this was going to happen.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank Senator Donnelly.  Senator Donnelly, thank you very much.  That\u2019s really great.  Appreciate it.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  A fantastic young gentleman, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.  Brian, congratulations.  And I know how hard you work, Brian.  (Applause.)  And Dr. Michael Burgess.  Do you like being called \u201cDoctor\u201d or \u201cCongressman\u201d?  I think \u201cDoctor\u201d is better.  I like \u201cDoctor.\u201d  (Laughs.)  So we\u2019ll call him Doctor.  (Applause.)  Thank you, Michael, very much.  Great job.  You worked \u2014 I know how hard everybody worked, and I really appreciate it.  Everybody appreciates it.  The country appreciates it.  Because nobody understood why this wasn\u2019t happening.  You know, they\u2019ve been talking about this for how long, Ron?  Twenty-five years?<\/p>\n<p>SENATOR JOHNSON:  A long time.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  A long time.  A lot of talk.  Politicians.  It\u2019s a lot of talk.<\/p>\n<p>I also want to thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, who\u2019s not here.  But he really worked hard with us.  He really did.  (Applause.)  And thanks, as well, to state and local officials here today who fought for this important cause.  They fought so hard, so many of them.  I want to thank you for the incredible work that you\u2019ve done on behalf of these and all wonderful Americans.  I mean, anybody can be there someday.  Anybody can be there.  Could you all stand up \u2014 the state, local people that worked so hard on this?  Because you really have been \u2014 thank you.  Yep.  Thank you, fellas.  (Applause.)  Couldn\u2019t have done it without the state and local, and I appreciate it.  Really great job.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Most of all, we\u2019re honored to be joined by several brave Americans for whom this bill is named.  Matthew Bellina, who is battling ALS, and his incredible wife Caitlin.  Matthew.  Right?  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.  Laura McLinn and her son, Jordan, who is battling muscular dystrophy.  Some good answers.  (Applause.)  That\u2019s so great.  Thanks.  Thanks for being with us, Jordan.  We\u2019re going to have some good answers for you.  (Laughter.)  Matthew, you\u2019re going to be happy.  You are happy.  Frank Mongiello, who\u2019s battling ALS, and who\u2019s joined by his wife, Marylin, and their six children.  Wow.  That\u2019s fantastic.  That\u2019s fantastic.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Six children.  And finally, I want to thank for being here and introduce Tim Wendler, who tragically lost his wife Trickett to ALS, and joined also by their three children.  So, Tim, thank you very much.  Thank you, Tim.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I want to thank you all for being here.  You have extraordinary courage, determination, and love.  You have love.  Real love.  And thanks to you, the countless American lives will ultimately be saved.  We will be saving \u2014 I don\u2019t even want to say thousands, because I think it\u2019s going to be much more \u2014 thousands and thousands, hundreds of thousands.  We\u2019re going to be saving tremendous numbers of lives.  And it\u2019s so great that you\u2019re up here with us and that we\u2019re all on this front line together.<\/p>\n<p>Each year, thousands of terminally ill patients suffer while waiting for new and experimental drugs to receive final FDA approval.  It takes a long time, and the time is coming down.  While we were streamlining and doing a lot of streamlining, the current FDA approval process can take, as Scott just said, many years \u2014 many, many years.  And for countless patients, time, it\u2019s not what they have.  They don\u2019t have an abundance of time.<\/p>\n<p>With the Right to Try law I\u2019m signing today, patients with life-threatening illnesses will finally have access to experimental treatments that could improve or even cure their conditions.  These are experimental treatments and products that have shown great promise, and we weren\u2019t able to use them before.  Now we can use them.  And oftentimes they\u2019re going to be very successful.  It\u2019s an incredible thing.<\/p>\n<p>The Right to Try also offers new hope for those who either don\u2019t qualify for clinical trials or who have exhausted all available treatment options.  There were no options, but now you have hope.  You really have hope.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Bellina, who is here with us, is just one example of many Americans who today has new cause for hope.  Due to the late progression of Matt\u2019s ALS, he doesn\u2019t qualify for any clinical trials in the United States.  He wouldn\u2019t qualify; couldn\u2019t do it.  They tried; he didn\u2019t qualify.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his limited mobility and budget, he was planning on traveling thousands of miles away, to Israel, to receive a treatment that is still awaiting FDA approval in America.  No one in Matt\u2019s position should ever have to travel from our great country to another continent or another country to receive a treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Now, with the passage of this bill, Americans will be able to seek cures right here at home, close to their family and their loved ones.  We are finally giving these wonderful Americans the right to try.  So important.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>America has always been a nation of fighters who never give up.  Right?  We never give up, ever.  Right?  Never give up.  We\u2019re fighters, like the amazing patients and families here today.<\/p>\n<p>Now, as I proudly sign \u2014 and this is very personal for me.  But as I proudly sign this bill, thousands of terminally ill Americans will finally have the help, the hope, and the fighting chance \u2014 and I think it\u2019s going to be better than chance \u2014 that they will be cured, that they will be helped, that they\u2019ll be able to be with their families for a long time or maybe just for a longer time.  But we\u2019re able to give them the absolute best, as to what we have at this current moment, at this current second.  And now, we\u2019re going to help a lot of people.  We\u2019re going to help a lot of people.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s an honor to be signing this.  And if I might, I think I\u2019ll present \u2014 I think I have to do this, Ron.  I have to present this good-looking guy with the first pen.  Is that okay?  You don\u2019t mind, right?  Okay, good.  I\u2019m going to do that.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>(The bill is signed.)  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So I want to thank \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 it\u2019s going to be fantastic.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.  This, to me, is very exciting.  And you\u2019re going to see some tremendous results.  We\u2019re going to have some incredible, incredible results.<\/p>\n<p>So thank you all for being here.  And all of the people in the audience who have been so helpful, thank you very much.  It\u2019s going to be something very, very special.  Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Thank you very much, everybody. I really appreciate it. This is \u2014 to me, this is a very important moment, a very important day. Been looking forward to this for a long time, along with Senator Ron Johnson. And I will tell you, we worked hard on this. I never understood why it was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,33,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-health-fitness","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Fullscreen-capture-5302018-103817-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}