WASHINGTON, D.C. April 29, 2015 The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee today announced the inclusion of $2 billion in mandatory funding for the medical research at the National Institutes of Health for each of the next five years as part of the 21st Century CURES proposal.
A statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network President Chris Hansen follows:
The proposal 's infusion of funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is long overdue, and it reflects the broad bipartisan consensus that the health of our country depends on lifesaving discoveries at institutions including the National Cancer Institute that advance the detection and treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer.
Federal funding for medical research has declined more than 24 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2003, forcing cancer centers to halt promising clinical trials and drying up the grant pool relied upon by researchers.
Past investment in research has dramatically improved our understanding of the collection of more than 200 diseases known as cancer and led to advances in treatments for certain previously deadly cancers that have increased both years of survivorship and quality of life. This funding proposal would allow the NIH to support its Precision Medicine Initiative and capitalize on the myriad opportunities that have come from the mapping of the human genome.
ACS CAN commends Chairman Upton and Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Gene Green (D-TX) for their bipartisan efforts to include this important funding for medical research, underscoring the national importance of providing adequate resources to fight a disease that will kill more than 589,000 Americans this year or more than 1,600 today. Families affected by cancer call on Congress to make this proposal to increase funding for NIH a reality.
ACS CAN continues to review the specifics of the latest CURES draft proposal and shares the committee 's goal to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of promising new treatments.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
For More Info, Contact:
Alissa Crispino or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: 202-661-5772 or 202-661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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