Texas lawmaker battling lung cancer fears Democrats’ drug plan, HR 3, will kill cures
U.S. Ron Wright got personal on Thursday.
As Congress debated a measure that would lower the cost of prescription medicine, the Arlington Republican explained that he feared it would “halt innovation” and lead to fewer medical cures.
And if the proposal had been law just years ago, Wright said he could be dead.
Wright, 66, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last year.
“I was told that the average life expectancy was 16 months. That was 16 months ago,” Wright said from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. “By the grace of Almighty God and American biotech ingenuity, I’m still here and I will get to enjoy another Christmas with my family.”
Wright, who received a standing ovation, went on to explain that he was prescribed chemotherapy and “an immunotherapy wonder-drug called Keytruda,” which was approved for his regimen in May 2017.
“Keytruda’s discovery is the result of significant financial investment by the private sector — not the government,” he said. “Today, I feel great. My last PET scan showed nothing in my liver and lymph nodes and that the primary tumor had shrunk to the size of a raisin.
“Five year ago, my diagnosis would have been a death sentence. Today, I am beating it.”
Wright spoke against HR 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which passed the House Thursday.
The measure would give the U.S. government more power to negotiate some drug prices.
Wright said he fears the bill — which he called a “socialist” policy — could slow or potentially halt innovation.
“Many cures are on the horizon,” he said. “We cannot stop, we cannot slow down, we cannot stifle research and the development of new cures with onerous government control. Too many lives hang in the balance.”
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, was among those who said they believe the measure will bring down the cost of prescription drugs and help patients.
HR 3 includes a measure Veasey helped co-author to expand access to programs that cut Medicare out-of-pocket costs for some low-income individuals.
“North Texans are facing a crisis of skyrocketing prescription drug prices that are forcing them to choose between putting food on the table for their families or their life saving prescriptions,” Veasey said in a statement.
“I am proud to take a stand to stop this crisis by passing this legislation that will lower the drug prices for the nearly 60,000 people enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan and over 285,00 people that enrolled in private health in Texas’ 33rd district.”
Wright and Veasey are seeking re-election in 2020.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 4:27 PM.
