This evening, the House of Representatives paid tribute to outgoing House Appropriations Chairman David Obey. The spontaneous tribute from his fellow appropriators was made during debate on the last appropriations bill Chairman Obey will oversee.

The bill passed the Senate earlier in the day, and House passage by a vote of 193-165 sends the measure to the President for his review and signature.

The short-term continuing resolution funds the federal government through March 4, 2011. It funds most programs including the Department of Defense cancer research programs, the National Institutes of Health cancer research programs, and the cancer control programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at fiscal year 2010 levels.

When the new Congress convenes, they will need to deal with funding the remainder of fiscal year 2011 (from March 5 until September 30), and we expect that the new Congress will reduce funding levels. House and Senate Republican leaders say they want to implement a cut of about 22 percent to bring non-security discretionary spending back to fiscal year 2008 levels. What Congressional leaders haven’t said is which programs should be cut, and by how much.

In today’s budget climate, it will be difficult to secure any funding increases for cancer research – even for investments with the proven long-term impact of biomedical research.

The only way we will get the members of the 112th Congress to make the fight against cancer a top legislative priority and continue to fund innovative and life-saving colorecal cancer research programs is if we tell them why it should be a priority. Come climb the steps of the Capitol with us – http://link.fightcrc.org/TakeAction. Taking the time to bring your cancer story to the halls of Congress will make a difference!

The House and Senate are finishing up a continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the federal government through December 3, and plan to adjourn after voting on the CR until November. Under the CR, funding will continue at FY 2010 enacted levels for most programs – including cancer research programs at the National Institutes of Health and colorectal cancer control programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Congress is not expected to finish the fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills until after the election.

Take action today, and tell Congress to increase fiscal year 2011 cancer research funding. As they head home for the election, take a minute to remind Members that they have work to finish when they come back to DC in November. Tell your Senators and Representative that you expect them to make colorectal cancer a top priority.

On Facebook? Take action and share this alert with your friends and family so that they can help in the fight too.

The Colorectal Cancer Coalition is working with Congressional leaders to increase fiscal year 2011 funding for the following colorectal cancer research and control programs:

• $50 million in funding for the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) at the Department of Defense
• $35.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• $5.79 billion for National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• $240 million for the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD)
• $601 million for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cancer programs
• $50 million for CDC’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program
• $50 million for CDC’s Colorectal Cancer Screening, Education & Outreach Initiative
• $65 million for CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries
• $2.857 billion for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Thanks to research, we have made great strides in the fight against colorectal cancer and treatment options have expanded to seven drugs. Today, people diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer are living longer than ever. But there is more work to be done, and we need continued federal funding of research programs to win the fight against colorectal cancer.

Take action today, and help us secure an increase in federal funding for fiscal year 2011.

Today, the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee met to consider the fiscal year 2011 bill that funds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The Subcommittee approved $2.571 billion in funding for the FDA.

This is an increase of $214 million above last year’s level and $55 million above the President’s request.  C3 is very pleased with this proposed increase, and applauds the leadership of Chairwoman De Lauro, Ranking Member Kingston and the members of the Subcommittee.

Earlier this month, C3 advocates went to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to increase funding for the FDA.  Register today as a C3 advocate, and we will update you on what you can do to help us make sure this increased funding for the FDA stays in the bill as it moves through the appropriations process.

Chairwoman DeLauro released the following statement following subcommittee approval of the bill highlighting the importance of FDA funding while also emphasizing some areas of Congressional concern with the agency:

“The Food and Drug Administration is always one of the most important agencies under our purview, particularly given that more than 20 cents of every dollar spent by American consumers is on an FDA-regulated product…I believe there is strong leadership at the FDA under Commissioner Hamburg.  But I remain concerned about the existing structure at the agency, especially as it pertains to drug safety.

So we have included targeted resources to help make a difference in this area, including an additional $65 million for staff to review generic drug applications, drug company ads targeted at consumers, and, for the first time to my knowledge, an increase specifically for review of drug company ads to doctors.  We are also funding more safety reviews for drugs already on the market, more inspections of foreign drug facilities, and providing more funds to safeguard clinical trials and improve the oversight of imported foods. For example, the bill includes:

• A $15 million increase over the request for the office of generic drugs
• A $3 million increase for the review of direct consumer ads
• A $2 million for the review of communications to medical professionals in the Division of Drug Marketing and Communication
• A $7 million increase over the request for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health
• A $16 million increase over the request for the center and field activities in the Center for Food Safety and Applied nutrition related to imported food safety.

In addition, we have included report language that we worked on with Sen. Grassley and Congressman Hinchey that outlines the need to create an independent office on post-market drug evaluation.  Thank you Congressman Hinchey for your leadership on this issue.  As we learned from the hearing the subcommittee held about the Avandia case, there may be an inherent bias when those that approve drugs continue to play a role in determining their safety in a post-market environment.

We have also included report language that we worked on with Congresswoman Emerson that directs FDA to provide a report on the status of developing standards for a track and trace system for prescription drugs, one that would document all parties involved in the prior sale, purchase, and trade of a given prescription drug beginning with the manufacturer.  This is critical to improving the security of the drug supply chain from counterfeit or other substandard products and to protecting consumers.  Thank you Congresswoman Emerson for your work and leadership on this.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s complete statement discussing all the funding in the bill is available on the House Appropriations Committee website.

Today, the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense held a public witness hearing about funding needs for the fiscal year 2011 defense appropriations bill.  C3′s President, Carlea Bauman, testified at the hearing about the urgent need for more funding for colorectal cancer research.

Ms. Bauman thanked the Subcommittee members for including $15 million for the Department of Defense (DoD)’s Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) in the fiscal year 2010 bill and urged them to increase the level of funding for the PRCRP to $50 million in fiscal year 2011.

C3 is making the request for funding along with other advocacy groups representing the eight research areas in the PRCRP.  The program, funded through the DoD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) supports high-quality cancer research, concentrating its resources on mechanisms which complement rather than duplicate the research approaches of the major funders of medical research in the United States.

The PRCRP also represents a unique partnership among the public, Congress, and the military.  Congress has required the DoD to ensure that the research funded through the program has relevance to service members and their families.  The research can help service members exposed to toxins and decrease the more than $1 billion that the DoD spends on cancer care.

Although the cancers included in this program are diverse, the research on these disease types is often synergistic. Advances or progress related to one cancer fuels the research on the other cancers in this program, and treatments initially approved for one cancer are routinely found to be effective in others.

In her testimony, Ms. Bauman advised the Subcommittee that areas of focus for colorectal cancer research in the PRCRP could be:

• An inexpensive, non-invasive, accurate screening test;
• Predictive markers to identify who will benefit from which treatments; and
• Accurate diagnostics that can evaluate the markers.

Discoveries resulting from investment in PRCRP research have the potential to transform the investigation of cancer, through the development of new prevention strategies and therapies, and someday, cures.  A $50 million investment will greatly enhance and accelerate such breakthroughs.  It is an opportunity to advance the best research to eradicate diseases and support the warfighter for the benefit of the American public.

Ms. Bauman’s complete testimony is available online here.

A list of the other witnesses who testified at the hearing is available here.