WASHINGTON, D.C.—November 28, 2016—Bipartisan 21st Century Cures legislation being considered by Congress includes $4.77 billion over ten years for the National Institutes of Health, including funding for the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. The House is expected to vote on the bill Wednesday with the Senate taking up an identical measure soon after.
A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) follows:
“The bipartisan 21st Century Cures legislation has the potential to greatly accelerate and improve cancer detection and treatment in this country. Never before have researchers been on the brink of so many potential new breakthroughs.
“If passed, Cures could help fund several of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative’s Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations including, the development of a large-scale patient network to gather information about tumor profiles, create an immunotherapy clinical trials network to harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer and quicken the pace of research into improving symptom care for patients and survivors, among many other possibilities.
“As the bill is partially paid for with scheduled increases for the Prevention and Public Health Fund, a critical component of the increased research portfolio will be to determine additional ways to detect and prevent cancer. We urge lawmakers to leave intact funds that have already been allocated from the fund for the explicit and intended purpose to refocus our health care system on preventive health and increasing access to proven prevention measures.
“Now is the time for Congress to take advantage of this historic opportunity. On behalf of the 1.7 million Americans diagnosed with cancer this year and all those touched by this disease, we urge Congress to quickly pass 21st Century Cures into law and include the requisite funding in the upcoming continuing resolution.”
About ACS CAN
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.
