Brett Guthrie: “I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, all of us have families who come to our offices, and they are advocating…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, all of us have families who come to our offices, and they are advocating for research or for cures for diseases to which they have lost a parent or a child, or they have their children with them who have the diseases, and they are just hoping for a move forward. In being on the Health Subcommittee, at least weekly and sometimes daily, innovators and entrepreneurs come to my office, and they talk about a new procedure or a new product--something that is innovative, that will change the lives of these families--but they are having trouble getting them through the system and getting them approved. It hurts families, though, like a family in Elizabethtown, who has someone with a degenerative disease. This family is trying to beat the clock because they think there is some kind of help out there. I have a friend of mine from Bowling Green whose son went through a diabetes trial. The first time they said they got any sleep through the night was when their kid was in this trial. Then they called me, crying, saying they were out of the trial and that it may be another year before they get in. So, in taking our entrepreneurs and our innovators and putting together these cures, it is not just about getting these products to market--it is about changing the dynamics of these families who are suffering. Our chairman and Ms.…”