You can make a difference. Make sure that your Representative and Senators hear from you in August when they are at home. C3 will help!

Congress hasn’t yet made final decisions on funding for cancer research and prevention programs. Money is very tight this year, and without stronger support from Congress, these programs are at risk.

Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee completed its consideration of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriation bill, which contains funding for nearly all federal cancer programs. The House Appropriations Committee completed its work last month on its own version of the bill. Now, each chamber’s version will be scheduled respectively for consideration by the full Senate or House, though many congressional observers believe that won’t happen until well into the fall and perhaps, after the elections.

Both House and Senate versions of the bill are severely lacking in what they propose to do for cancer patients and for cancer research, with the House version being worse.

The following chart gives an idea of how far we need to go to meet the budget levels needed for cancer research, screening, and treatment. A brief explanation of the columns:

1. “Current 2006” describes the levels currently allocated for fiscal year 2006, i.e., the budget that Congress passed last year.
2. “2007 Do-No-Harm” is the amount necessary to avoid cuts in cancer programs, as identified by One Voice Against Cancer, a coalition of cancer and health organizations in which C3 plays a key role.
3. “House 2007” is the amount allocated thus far by the House Appropriations Committee in its Labor-HHS-Education Appropriation bill.
4. “Senate 2007” is the amount allocated last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee in its Appropriation bill.

Amounts included in this chart are from initial sources of information and may change slightly as more congressional data is made available.

Obviously, Congress has not yet done what it must if it is to show its support to colorectal cancer patients and families.In fact, it hasn’t even come close to increasing cancer programs enough to account for inflation, and the House bill actually makes small (but real) cuts!  Therefore, C3 and its advocates must work diligently during the rest of the summer and in the fall to ensure that Congress hears about our priorities.

Just what can you do? The most immediate, important (and even fun) thing is to set up visits with your Representative and two Senators when they are home in the district or state in August. These meetings can be amazingly effective in elevating the issue of colorectal cancer for Members of Congress. And it is in August that Congress takes its longest recess – or “work period” – during which Members of Congress are often very visible and available in their home communities and regions. This provides an extraordinarily good time for constituents to meet with them and impress upon them: 1) what it means to be someone living with colorectal cancer or to be a family member of a person who has had colorectal cancer, and 2) what it is that you need them to do to support cancer research, screening, and treatment.

And…it is not as difficult as you might think! We at C3 stand ready to help you every step of the way. If you are interested in doing more to convince your Members of Congress of the importance of cancer funding, please email us at advocacy@fightcolorectalcancer.org, and Dusty Weaver and/or I will be in touch with you. Thanks for all your summer efforts.