Johnson's right-to-try bill blocked

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's push for a right-to-try bill ran up against the reality of hardball politics Wednesday.

Johnson's measure to allow terminally ill patients to receive experimental drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration was blocked by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Johnson sought to move the bill through unanimous consent, meaning one senator could halt its progress.  And that's what Reid did, blunting a Johnson initiative for the second time in recent months. In July, Reid blocked Johnson's bill to protect federal whistleblowers from retaliation.

Johnson faces a tough re-election fight against Democrat Russ Feingold, so any move to get legislation through by a parliamentary maneuver was always going to be difficult.

And it's even harder since Democrats are still upset that Republicans have blocked President Barack Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Merrick Garland.

Reid said he understood the "seriousness" of the Johnson proposal and acknowledged "the urgency that patients and their families feel when they're desperate for new treatments."

In objecting to the measure, Reid said Johnson's bill didn't have bipartisan support — there were 40 Republican co-sponsors and two Democrats. He said the bill didn't go through the hearing process where all the major players on the issue have voice. The Johnson-chaired Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs panel held two hearings on the subject.

"I think we should have had a hearing on Merrick Garland," Reid said on the Senate floor.

Johnson called it "a sad day in the U.S. Senate when the minority leader of the Senate would turn his back on terminally ill patients and their families — deny them that freedom, that right to try, that right to hope — to score a political point."

Johnson named his bill after Trickett Wendler of Pewaukee, who in 2015 died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Her photo was placed on an easel on the senate floor as Johnson argued for the bill.

On Tuesday, California became the 32nd state to pass a right-to-try bill when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure. The Democratic governor vetoed similar legislation last year.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly have a goal to pass a right-to-try measure in the upcoming legislative session.

Johnson described his legislation as a federal counterpart to the state bills. His legislation would prohibit the federal government from taking action to prevent patient access to experimental medications when several conditions are met. Johnson has said he'll continue to fight for the bill and would seek to attach the measure to other legislation after the election.

Supporters say right-to-try legislation enables those with terminal illnesses to access experimental drugs and new treatments early in the development pipeline. Eligible medications have to pass phase one of clinical trials.

Critics say the legislation offers false hope, because the laws don't require a company to grant a patient's request. They say patients can gain access to experimental drugs through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's policy of expanded access.