Cancer Activists Call on Congress to Make Cancer a National Priority

American Cancer Society
Wednesday, 6 February 2002

Urge funding for cancer initiatives

Today cancer survivors, patients, volunteers, and their supporters from around the country met with their representatives on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to make cancer a national legislative priority. Key issues discussed included increased funding for vital federal cancer research and prevention initiatives, expanded access to cancer care, prevention and early detection programs, initiatives to reduce health disparities, and legislation to prevent suffering from tobacco-related illnesses.

"Cancer is the nation's number one health concern and the second leading cause of death," said Robert C. Young, MD, president of the national board of directors of the American Cancer Society. "The American Cancer Society encourages Members of Congress to stay committed to initiatives which will help eliminate cancer as a public health problem and advance the cause of biomedical research as a whole"

Completing the task of doubling the National Institutes of Health budget was one of the most critical issues Society volunteers raised. Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 is the final year of the doubling effort Congress committed to five years ago. In the fall of 2000, then-Governor George W. Bush endorsed the initiative and his FY 2003 budget meets the necessary funding level of $27.3 billion in the next fiscal year.

Doubling the funding for NIH will also help secure needed investments in the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The law that established the NCI also provided this Institute a unique funding mechanism, the so-called "bypass budget" that fully takes into account the burden of cancer on our society. The bypass budget enables the NCI director to recommend funding levels directly to the President that will enable NCI scientists to seize extraordinary opportunities and achieve our nation's cancer research goals. At its current funding level, which did not meet the Director's recommendation for FY 2002, NCI is able to support less than 30% of all peer-reviewed and approved research grant applications.

Despite the President's welcome commitment of $5.5 billion to cancer related funding, the NCI budget will be only $X, $X short of the $5.7 billion recommended by the NCI DirectorIn addition to office visits, American Cancer Society volunteers recognized the strong support and leadership of six members of Congress who have demonstrated a consistent pattern of excellence in leadership and advocacy for multiple cancer-related issues. Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., Representative Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, Representative Lois Capps, D-Calif., and Representative Sue Myrick, R-N.C., were received the Distinguished Public Policy Leadership Award. Representative Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., and Representative Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., were given the Public Policy Achievement Award.

Continued investments in cancer research, research application, early detection and prevention Key priorities for the cancer community include investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The American Cancer Society supports an NIH budget of $27.3 billion, a 16.7 percent increase over last year. This funding will fulfill the Congressional commitment to double the NIH's funding by FY2003. The Society is also calling on the President and Congress to provide $5 billion in funding for NCI, the amount the NCI Director has deemed necessary to continue the effort to win the war against cancer.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and its number one health concern. Each year, more than 1.2 million Americans are newly diagnosed and over 550,000 die.

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 information about cancer, call toll-free anytime 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit the American Cancer Society website.

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