Congress sends mixed public health signals in final federal budget

American Cancer Society
Monday, 29 November 1999

President Clinton signed the FY2000 budget today and many in Washington are breathing a sigh of relief. While the public health community sees some bright spots in the final federal budget, there are also some disappointments. In its role as the leading voluntary public health agency, the American Cancer Society says the budget is a slow step in the right direction and finds that Congress missed many opportunities to improve the public health, particularly related to tobacco.

"We're very disappointed that Congress failed to enact a tobacco tax in this year's budget deal. By rejecting a measure favored by the majority of Americans, Congress missed an opportunity to save lives," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "This is another example of Congress failing to enact legislation to protect American children from tobacco."

The American Cancer Society also expressed concerns over:

- A very minimal increase in funding for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, a key cancer-screening program aimed at helping medically under-served women.

- A lack of support for the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against the major tobacco companies. The lawsuit will proceed according to DOJ officials, but Congress had the opportunity to fund the lawsuit directly and chose not to do so.

On the positive side, Seffrin noted that Congress provided a $27 million increase in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's National Tobacco Control Program. "That's a significant increase in an education program designed to help children remain tobacco-free. This investment will ultimately save money and save lives," he said.

Seffrin also lauded a 15 percent increase for FY2000 for the National Institutes of Health. "We hope this trend of increasing the NIH budget will continue. Ultimately, we'd like to see its budget doubled within five years. The only way to meet the public health challenges we will face in the coming years is by significant increases in funding governmental research and prevention efforts, especially at the NIH and CDC," added Seffrin.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org