Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for Als Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the chair of the Health Subcommittee for this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember my friend Artie. Artie and I were friends from the time we were in third grade in Chicago, and we stayed in touch all the many, many years. I was pretty devastated when he told me that he had ALS.

A couple of years ago Artie made the decision, because ALS is a really cruel disease, to take his own life, to set the date so that he would just make the decision himself and not suffer so horribly to the bitter end, because at that time he saw no hope.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my constituent, Brian Wallach and his wife, Sandra, who saw that there was hope in the future. They would fight in order to get legislation that would make access to what is promising therapies right now, therapies that weren't available or even on the horizon to Artie.

I am so proud to join with colleagues across the aisle to say that we can provide that hope, that opportunity to people who are facing what has been a death sentence, and that we can see a future that is bright for now the ALS victims.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank I AM ALS, the organization, and many of the organizations that have been fighting for this. The advocates have done a great job to bring this to our attention and bring this day about and get over 300 cosponsors to this legislation. I am proud to be among them.

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