48,000 Messages to Congress - You Made A Difference
When President Bush delivered his FY 2007 budget proposal to Congress in February, his plan included significant cuts to funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If ratified, the proposal would reduce the total number of NIH-funded research grants by two percent, slashing nearly 650 research projects. Another $40 million would be cut from funding for medical research at the NCI. In addition, the President's budget proposes deep reductions at the CDC for chronic disease prevention, quality-of-life programs and health promotion. Specifically, the proposal cuts nearly $20 million from chronic disease programs, which include cancer control, prevention and survivorship.
In March, the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) alerted you that Congress was considering the first cuts to these critically important healthcare budgets in 40 years. We gave you the facts and asked you to take action by contacting your representatives in Washington and letting them know that the fight against cancer deserves more, not less. And you did.
In just a matter of days, LAF Advocacy Team members and others spoke loud and clear by sending their Congressmen and women more than 48,000 messages opposing the recommended funding cuts.
Thanks in part to the strong support of the LAF Advocacy Team, on Thursday, March 16, the United States Senate voted 63 to 37 in favor of a bipartisan amendment to the Senate budget resolution restoring $7 billion in funding for education and health programs. Sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), the amendment reinstates funding to critical medical research and public health programs at NIH and the CDC.
See how your Senators voted.
Though we can celebrate victory in the Senate, there is a long road ahead and much work to be done. The House budget process is currently at an impasse as lawmakers recently left for a two-week spring recess without completing their version of the budget resolution. The House Leadership has indicated that negotiations will likely resume when legislators return the week of April 24.
While there are no guarantees in the legislative process, there would have been no hope of increased funding for cancer research and programs this year without passage of the Specter-Harkin amendment in the Senate. We will continue to work with members of Congress to ensure cancer research and public health programs receive the necessary funding.
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If ratified, the proposal would reduce the total number of NIH-funded research grants by two percent, slashing nearly 650 research projects. Another $40 million would be cut from funding for medical research at the NCI. In addition, the President's budget proposes deep reductions at the CDC for chronic disease prevention, quality-of-life programs and health promotion. Specifically, the proposal cuts nearly $20 million from chronic disease programs, which include cancer control, prevention and survivorship.
In March, the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) alerted you that Congress was considering the first cuts to these critically important healthcare budgets in 40 years. We gave you the facts and asked you to take action by contacting your representatives in Washington and letting them know that the fight against cancer deserves more, not less. And you did.
In just a matter of days, LAF Advocacy Team members and others spoke loud and clear by sending their Congressmen and women more than 48,000 messages opposing the recommended funding cuts.
Thanks in part to the strong support of the LAF Advocacy Team, on Thursday, March 16, the United States Senate voted 63 to 37 in favor of a bipartisan amendment to the Senate budget resolution restoring $7 billion in funding for education and health programs. Sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), the amendment reinstates funding to critical medical research and public health programs at NIH and the CDC.
See how your Senators voted.
Though we can celebrate victory in the Senate, there is a long road ahead and much work to be done. The House budget process is currently at an impasse as lawmakers recently left for a two-week spring recess without completing their version of the budget resolution. The House Leadership has indicated that negotiations will likely resume when legislators return the week of April 24.
While there are no guarantees in the legislative process, there would have been no hope of increased funding for cancer research and programs this year without passage of the Specter-Harkin amendment in the Senate. We will continue to work with members of Congress to ensure cancer research and public health programs receive the necessary funding.
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posted by TM at 8:18 PM
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