The public health community lost a tireless and enormously effective champion when Senator Arlen Specter succumbed to cancer on Sunday at the age of 82. I thought it was only appropriate to pay tribute to him by recognizing his unparalleled contributions to the fight against cancer. Throughout his 30-year career in the U.S. Senate representing the state of Pennsylvania, Senator Specter was among Congress' strongest advocates for biomedical research. When asked in a 2008 interview with NIH MedlinePlus magazine why medical research was a priority for him, the senator said, "Health is our nation's number one asset." I believe medical research should be pursued with all possible haste to cure the diseases and maladies affecting Americans." When Senator Specter first arrived in the Senate in 1981, the NIH budget was only $3.6 billion. Senator Specter was a strong and consistent advocate for increasing that amount, and, working in a bipartisan manner together with Senator Tom Harkin, he played a central role in the doubling of the NIH budget between 1998 and 2003. Senator Specter was almost singlehandedly responsible for adding $10 billion to the NIH's budget through the 2009 stimulus package. He understood that federal funding of medical research not only results in progress against the biggest disease killers, but it also supports jobs and economic activity in communities across the country. Today, NIH receives more than $30 billion in funding, more than 80 percent of which is spent at research institutions and medical centers nationwide. The funds championed by Senator Specter have led to critical discoveries in the treatment and prevention of cancer - breakthroughs that are saving lives today. To honor Senator Specter for his tireless efforts in the fight against cancer, we presented him with the National Distinguished Advocacy Award, ACS CAN's most prestigious advocacy honor, in 2005. Congress currently faces tough choices on how to reduce federal spending, and Senator Specter would be among the loudest voices in support of protecting medical research funding so that past research investments don't go to waste and more lives are saved. On behalf of the entire ACS CAN family, I want to thank Senator Specter for all he did to ensure that fewer people suffer and die from cancer. Our deepest condolences go to his family and friends. His legacy will live on as we continue to urge lawmakers to make cancer research and prevention programs a top national priority.
Mariah Forster Olson, an ACS CAN Ambassador Constituent Team Lead (ACT Lead), traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to share her story as a childhood cancer survivor and to advocate on behalf of other patients and survivors during the 2019 Childhood Cancer Action Days.