2010 Election Update

The examination of Tuesday’s election results is just beginning, but this much is clear: many new lawmakers will be taking office at the federal and state levels who we are eager to get to know. Like each of us, they are people who have been touched by cancer, either through their own experience or that of a loved one. Our task now is to take this opportunity to educate and update both new and returning officeholders on the issues that people with cancer and their families care about, and to cultivate the cancer policy champions of the future.

As a nationally respected nonpartisan organization with a history of working with lawmakers from all political parties, ACS CAN’s goal remains making cancer a top national priority for all elected officials, regardless of their political affiliation. We look forward to working with federal and state lawmakers in pursuit of this goal, but we are also cognizant of the significant challenges we currently face in meeting our advocacy goals, including the weak economy and widespread public misconceptions about the Affordable Care Act. Congress and state legislatures across the country will be focused in the coming year on fiscal belt-tightening, which could squeeze federal and state funding available for cancer research and prevention programs. Based on various statements made during the campaign, we are also expecting new efforts to alter the course of the Affordable Care Act, which could put critical patient protections at risk. ACS CAN will meet these challenges as we always have – by ensuring that the voices of people with cancer and their families are heard in national and state policy debates.

Those voices were heard Tuesday in South Dakota, where public health advocates scored a major victory by helping to pass a comprehensive statewide smoke-free law that will extend a restriction on indoor smoking to include all bars, restaurants, casinos, and video lottery establishments. With the strong support of ACS CAN, South Dakota has become the 23rd state, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to pass a statewide comprehensive smoke-free law. More than 3,000 municipalities representing 79 percent of the U.S. population now have laws in effect that restrict where smoking is permitted. Congratulations to our staff and volunteer partners in the Midwest Division for their hard work in making this victory possible.

ACS CAN also amplified the patient voice in the most successful voter education effort in our short history. ACS CAN sent questionnaires to candidates in congressional and state election contests across the country to inform them and allow them to go on the record about issues that are critical to families touched by cancer, including federal funding for cancer research, tobacco control, and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, ACS CAN volunteers nationwide used the questionnaires to educate voters about candidate positions on these issues by tracking candidates at public forums and canvassing neighborhoods. ACS CAN also co-sponsored bipartisan candidate debates in Delaware and New York as part of our voter education campaign. We made great strides this year, but as always we are also evaluating our techniques with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of our education efforts in future years.

The political and policy landscape changes with every election. As it has in years past, ACS CAN views the arrival of new lawmakers as an opportunity to advance our cancer-fighting agenda. Our focus remains on the issues that are most important to defeating cancer: investing in groundbreaking research and lifesaving cancer prevention and control programs, enacting strong tobacco control policies that discourage people from smoking, and expanding access to quality health care nationwide. We will invite all elected officials, regardless of political party, to work with us to do what is best for people with cancer and their families.

Note that because of the elections and the American Cancer Society’s Annual Meeting in Atlanta this week, we will not be sending out an Affordable Care Act Update tomorrow. Look for an update next week with additional details on the impact of the elections on our mission-critical work. Thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help fight cancer.

Christopher W. Hansen

President

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)