Story highlights US President Donald Trump had previously offered to help Charlie Gard

Several court decisions stopped his parents from taking him to the US

(CNN) A US Congressional committee has voted in favor of giving the terminally ill British baby Charlie Gard and his parents permanent residency so the child can undergo an experimental treatment in the country.

An amendment to grant the family residency was passed unanimously in the House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday, according to Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who introduced the amendment. But it would need a vote from the full House and the Senate to become law.

Charlie Gard's doctors have advised that the baby's life support be switched off.

The amendment has been added to a controversial bill that includes money for US President Donald Trump's border wall and enhanced immigration enforcement, which could take a significant amount of time to be voted into law, if it is at all.

Charlie Gard is at the center of a global ethical argument over whether he should live or die. He was born in August with mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, a rare disease, and is being kept alive by life support.

Herrera Beutler -- whose own daughter was born with a rare and usually fatal disease but survived after treatment -- said that the committee had "an incredible opportunity" to help Charlie Gard.

Read More