U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued the following statement of support,

“[u]nder this budget, we will provide the health and human services that Americans depend on more effectively, slashing waste and focusing programs on results.  And we’ll make many of the necessary investments our country has been putting off for years, including investments in fighting health care fraud, strengthening our public health infrastructure, and getting serious about health and wellness,” said Sebelius. “This budget is a big step toward a healthier, stronger America.”

The President’s budget includes $32.09 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  The proposed funding level for NIH would be an increase of $1 billion (3.2 percent) over last year to support innovative projects from basic to clinical research.  The increase in funding for the NIH will allow the agency to initiate 30 new drug trials in 2011, and double the number of novel compounds in Phase 1 – 3 clinical trials by 2016.  In addition, FY 2011 funding will support the completion of a comprehensive catalog of cancer mutations for the 20 most common malignancies, setting the stage for complete genomic characterization of every cancer as part of medical care within 10 years.

The NIH budget includes:

• $5.26 billion for the National Cancer Institute – an increase of $161 million (3.16 percent); and
• $219 million for the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities – a $7 million increase (3.5 percent).

The President’s FY 2011 budget proposal also provides $2.5 billion for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – an increase of $148 million (6.26 percent) over last year.  The funding increases for the FDA include increases to bring more lower cost generic drugs and generic biologics to market as well as funding to expand post-market safety surveillance of medical products, and to support FDA’s efforts to make safety data more comprehensive and accessible to patients, providers, and scientists.

That is the good news.

The bad news is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget.  The President’s FY 2011 budget proposal reduces funding for CDC cancer prevention and control programs, including the Office of Smoking and Health, by $19 million (3.9 percent) below last year’s funded level.  Specifically, the National Breast and Cervical Early Detection Program is cut by $4 million (2 percent) and the Office of Smoking and Health is cut by more than $3 million (3.2 percent).

The CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Screening, Education & Outreach program is funded at $45 million.  This is the same level the program was funded at for fiscal year 2010.

Two CDC cancer control programs are eliminated under the President’s budget.  The Geraldine Ferraro Blood Cancer Program, which received $4.7 million in FY 2010, and the Gynecologic Cancer and Education and Awareness (Johanna’s Law) Program, which received $6.8 million in FY 2010, are zeroed out under the President’s FY 2011 budget proposal.

President Barack Obama

President Obama released his FY 2010 budget request. The budget requests $30.838 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 1.4 percent increase ($443 million) over the FY 2009 level. This includes $5.15 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) or $181 million more than the FY 2009 funding level.

The NIH funding request also reflects the request of $6 billion for “cancer research across NIH.” The budget summary says that the $6 billion request is “… the first year of an 8-year strategy to double cancer research by FY 2017. The FY 2010 request represents an increase of $268 million or 5 percent over the estimated FY 2009 level in this area.”

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.

“We ask that you lend your support to financing research that may lead to cures for cancer in our lifetimes.” The letter went on to say, “We are at a real turning point for cancer research, but whether we actually turn that corner will depend on available resources.”

We urge everyone to contact their Senators and ask them to sign onto this letter. The deadline for signatures is May 8th. Click here to find your Senators office number.

The budget resolution does not become law, but rather outlines for Congress the parameters for the spending bills throughout the year. It is drafted by the majority party. This is the first time since 2000 a final budget resolution was approved in an election year.

The Democrats’ budget resolution calls for $24.5 billion more in discretionary spending than the $991.6 billion President Bush requested. Bush has threatened to veto bills that exceed his target, but Democrats may wait for him to leave office before completing work on these bills.

Click here for the Budget Resolution Fact Sheet