On the recordSeptember 28, 2016
I understand the seriousness of my friend's proposal. I understand the urgency that patients and their families feel who are desperate for new treatments. I could go through a litany of people who have been in predicaments like this, like this young lady here where we see her picture. I remember Wendy Rockenfeller. I went to see her in Boulder City. She was all dressed up, knowing that I was coming, in bed. She, at a very young age, was stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease. She died 5 days after I saw her. She loved politics. She was involved in my campaigns. But this dread disease took her. Her husband was desperate. He took her to Mexico for some treatment that didn't work, of course. But as my friend from Wisconsin said, he was looking for hope. Her husband Uwe Rockenfeller. Bob Forbuss was a young school teacher in Las Vegas, but he had a great knack for business. Without going through a lot of detail, he worked part time with an ambulance company. He wound up owning that big, big ambulance company. He was very successful, made a lot of money, but he was stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease, and he died--not as fast as Wendy, but he died. I went to see him the day before I saw Wendy. So I understand the urgency of the patients, but also we have a situation here. There are ways to improve the access process so it works better and faster for patients. My friend talks about 40 or 42 cosponsors.…





