National Cancer Fund Bill Introduced: August 2008
The National Cancer Fund Act of 2008 (HR 6791) was introduced on August 1, 2008, by Representatives Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), Co-chair of the House Cancer Caucus. ASTRO supports this critical legislation and worked closely with its partners in the One Voice Against Cancer coalition in developing this bill to accelerate progress preventing and controlling cancer.
The bill would create dedicated sources of funding to supplement existing appropriations for the fight against cancer. Under this concept, the bill would establish a National Cancer Fund through an increase in the federal tobacco tax to $1.00 per cigarette pack with corresponding increases in other tobacco products that would raise $35 billion over five years to fight cancer.
The bill would direct that the new funds be spent on projects reflecting the continuum of cancer from prevention and early detection through research and patient care. It would also direct the President's Cancer Panel to convene experts in the field to make recommendations to Congress on how best to allocate the funding and examine additional, alternative sources of funding to support the National Cancer Fund.
To urge your representative to cosponsor this important legislation, go to ASTRO's Grassroots Action Center and enter your zip code.
Proposal for an Additional $5.2 Billion for the NIH and NCI
On July 16, the Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
overseeing the National Institutes of Health (NIH), introduced an emergency spending bill (S. 3272) to provide the National Cancer Institute with an additional $1.2 billion and the rest of the NIH with $4 billion for FY 2008.
The Senators said funding for cancer research is inadequate and are taking this bold step to take emergency action to reverse the funding trends of the past five years. If successful, this proposal would have a dramatic impact on cancer research. An additional $1.2 billion for NCI would represent nearly a 25 percent increase in NCI's budget, which would dwarf ASTRO and the cancer research community’s funding request for the agency for this year.
Specter, who is currently battling a recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease, has been a longtime advocate of increased NIH funding and Harkin has been a strong ally. Yesterday, Specter called recent funding for NIH “grossly insufficient” and said Congress must do something about this “scandalous situation.”
The NIH proposal could work its way into a larger supplemental funding package that the Senate appropriations committee is scheduled to take up on July 22. That package will primarily address disaster relief and economic stimulus. Specter and Harkin successfully led the charge to include a $150 million increase for NIH into a supplemental bill earlier this year that became law.
ASTRO will closely monitor this legislation and mobilize our grassroots network in support as it moves forward.
President Signs Supplemental Appropriation Package with NIH and NCI Increase: June Update
ASTRO and our cancer research coalition partners scored big victories in June! Congress passed the fiscal year 2008 supplemental appropriations package, including a $150 million increase for the NIH and more than $20 million for the NCI. The President quickly signed the appropriation package before the July 4 recess. This measure passed thanks to a powerful presence this month at the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) Lobby Day, during which ASTRO was strongly represented by Stephen Hahn, M.D., Wayne Jenkins, M.D., M.P.H., and Kenneth Roberts, M.D.
As a reminder, the supplemental bill did not provide any funding for the NIH when the House initially passed it in early May, but Sens. Harkin and Specter added $400 million to the Senate package for the NIH in late May. When the bill went back to the House this month, retaining the NIH funds was seen as a giant uphill battle. But by working with our coalition friends and targeting key offices on Capitol Hill, cancer research advocates successfully urged including an NIH increase in the House supplemental bill approved.
NIH Appropriation Funding in Fiscal Year 2009 Bill: June Update
This week the House Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the NIH and NCI approved its FY
2009 bill, increasing NIH's appropriation by $1.2 billion over the FY 2008 level and increasing NCI funding by nearly $170 million. Also the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing NIH/NCI approved its FY 2009 bill, which would increase NIH's appropriation by $1.1 billion over the FY 2008 level. These increases would help get NIH and NCI back on track after year of stagnant funding and inflation have hindered research progress. Although,
it’s unclear whether these funding increases will become law during an election year.
Increasing NIH/NCI funding for FY2009 appropriations was a priority request of Congress
during ASTRO Advocacy Day in March, via our grassroots alert in May and again among our
physicians who attended last week’s OVAC lobby day. There is still have a long way go
before the FY 2009 appropriations process is complete, but this is very positive first step
that indicates growing Congressional support for cancer research.
Senate Approves Supplemental Bill with NIH Boost: May Update
In May, in a bit of a surprise, the Senate overwhelmingly passed (75-22) the fiscal year
2008 supplemental funding package, including a $400 million increase for the National Institutes of Health proposed by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). ASTRO, along with its partners
in the cancer research community, activated its grassroots advocates in targeted states to
urge key Republican senators to vote in favor of including the $400 million increase.
Twenty-five ASTRO members in targeted states contacted their Republican senators and told
them to support the increase. The Senate vote, which concluded the week that Sen. Ted
Kennedy (D-Mass.) was diagnosed with a brain tumor, has advocates optimistic about the out
look for reversing years of declining funding for cancer research at NIH. Attention will
now turn to the House to see if it can pass the supplemental with enough votes to override
a threatened veto by President Bush.
Cancer Research Funding in Jeopardy
House and Senate appropriators have proposed increasing other programs at the expense of funding for cancer research and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute. In its first round of activity, the House appropriations committee proposed to provide a scant 1.9 percent increase in the NIH budget. Senate appropriators improved on the House figure, but only were able to secure a 2.8 percent increase for NIH — still less than half of the $1.9 billion increase in funding, being sought by ASTRO and other cancer research advocates, needed to get cancer research funding back on track with medical inflation. ASTRO is urging its members to educate Congress on the consequences of failing to adequately invest in cancer research.
NCI Launches New Pilot Program
The National Cancer Institute announced the launch of its Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) — a three-year pilot program designed ”to bring the latest scientific advances and the highest level of innovative and integrated, multi-specialty care to a larger population of cancer patients.” The program seeks to increase participation in clinical trials, reduce cancer-care disparities and improve information sharing through the multi-disciplinary collaboration of medical professionals with ties to NCI’s research and cancer center network. The pilot sites, which are community hospital-based cancer centers offering medical, surgical, and radiation oncology care, will share best practices and refine the overall NCCCP concept prior to broader implementation. NCCCP hopes that a community-based platform and expanded information network will lead to more rapid translation of newly discovered biomarkers and molecularly targeted therapies and speed the development of new cancer drugs.