As a result of C3’s advocacy efforts, $15 million for a new peer reviewed cancer research program is included in the final Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill.

The program will research cancers, like colorectal cancer, that are not addressed in the breast, prostate, lung and ovarian cancer research programs run by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC).  In addition to colorectal cancer research, the funds will be used to conduct research in the following areas: melanoma and other skin cancers, pediatric brain tumors within the field of childhood cancer research, genetic cancer research and genomic medicine, kidney cancer, blood cancer, Listeria Vaccine for infectious disease and cancer, and radiation protection utilizing nanotechnology.

The $15 million in funding for this new cancer research program was included at the request of Representatives Kay Granger (R-TX) and Jim Moran (D-VA).

Read the rest of this entry »

The fiscal year 2010 Labor-HHS-Education portion of the omnibus appropriations conference report funds the Colorectal Cancer Screening, Education and Outreach program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at $45 million.  This is a $6 million increase over fiscal year 2009 (14.3 percent increase).

We need your help to get Congress to continue to increase funding for colorectal cancer programs next year!  Register now to join us at the 2010 Call-on Congress, and continue reading for more details on fiscal year 2010 funding for cancer programs and research.

Read the rest of this entry »

Although the fiscal year ended on September 30, to-date Congress has only completed 5 of the 12 annual appropriations bills.  This week, Congress moved forward with a couple of important steps and it looks like they are now on track to complete the remaining 7 bills before the end of the year.

Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have authored a Senate Dear Colleague Letter in support of increasing the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) budget to $6 billion in Fiscal Year 2010 and doubling NCI’s budget over the next five years. Read the rest of this entry »

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Cancer Survivor and Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has decided to leave the Republican Party and run in the 2010 Democratic primary. You can read the Senator’s statement below.

April 28, 2009

Statement by Senator Arlen Specter

I have been a Republican since 1966. I have been working extremely hard for the Party, for its candidates and for the ideals of a Republican Party whose tent is big enough to welcome diverse points of view. While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. I have taken each issue one at a time and have exercised independent judgment to do what I thought was best for Pennsylvania and the nation. Read the rest of this entry »