Tulane Cancer Center
Information on
Public Action on Cancer Research Funding
A Message from the Director of the Tulane Cancer Center
Past successes
Senate bill 441: National Fund for Health Research
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A Message about Cancer Research Funding
from the Director of the Tulane Cancer Center
Advances in cancer prevention, cancer detection, and cancer cure come from cancer research. The vast majority of cancer research today is funded by the federal government through the National Cancer Institute. The current budget is 2.3 billion dollars. This level of funding permits only 22% of the meritorious research to proceed. This level of funding is less than 20% more (in constant dollars) than was allocated in 1989, despite the enormous increase in opportunities for discovery unleashed by the avalanche of new knowledge int he past decade.
Inceased funding for cancer research will accelerate discovery and benefit the public by decreasing suffering and death from cancer. We need your help in supporting cancer research as a national priority. You can help by informing your congressional representatives and your senators of your sense of need and urgency. Your voice and the voices of your friends make a difference when Congress is forced to choose among funding options. Let your voice be heard.
Roy S. Weiner, M.D.
Director of the Tulane Cancer Center
Chief of Medical Staff at Tulane University Hospital & Clinic
Past Successes
Public Action Information on
US Senate Bill 441
Tulane Cancer Center joins the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in supporting S.441, the National Fund For Health Research, and believes that enactment of this bill is the only way to achieve a real national commitment to conquer cancer.
The text of Senate Bill 441, along with a summary and a status update, may be found at the Library of Congress' "Thomas" legislative information website. To find this bill, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d105query.html#blno; in search field number three ("Bill/Amendment number") enter "S. 411" (with a space between the period and the "4") and then click the SEARCH button.
The AACR has published the following summary:
Introduction
Who has introduced the National Fund for Health Research?
How does the National Fund for Health Research Work?
Why are health insurance premiums being used to support this fund?
Why is the National Fund for Health Research necessary?
How would the money from the fund be allocated?
How can you help?
S. 441, the National Fund For Health Research, is:
- A bi-partisan plan to double our national investment in biomedical and cancer research
- the only legislative vehicle to supplement annual appropriations to the National Cancer Institute and the rest of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to maintain our nation's commitment to health research during these tough budgetary times.
Who has introduced the National Fund for Health Research?
- Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the National Fund for Health Research on March 13, 1997 in the United States Senate.
How Does the National Fund for Health Research Work?
- A Fund will be establish within the US Treasury to receive and disburse monies.
- One penny of every dollar paid for health insurance premiums will be deposited into the Fund. It will be phased in over a four-year period to enable a gradual implementation.
- The monies from the Fund will be additional allocations, and will not replace monies for cancer and biomedical research provided to the NIC and the NIH through the normal appropriations process.
- The bill creates a trigger to make sure that the current level of taxpayer revenues provided to the NIH does not increase as the Fund increases. Each year, amounts within the Fund would automatically be allotted to each of the NIH Institutes and Centers, including the NIC, as long as the NIH received the same appropriation as the previous year.
Why are health insurance premiums being used to support this fund?
- Our federal commitment to cancer research is grossly underfunded.
- The US government invests only a little more than 2% of cancer's health care costs into research to find effective prevention measures, treatments, and cures for cancer.
- What do other industries invest in research and development?
- the defense industry invests 15% on research and development.
- the pharmaceutical industry invests 21% of US sales on research and development.
Based upon these examples of research and development investment, if the government wants to conquer cancer, it must do more.
Why is the National Fund for Health Research necessary?
- Over 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year and our current commitment to research to cure this desease is inadequate to meet the challeng.
- Federal funding for cancer research has enabled many of the great advances discussed at the AACR Annual Meeting and Public Forum.
- Constraints on discretionary spending at the Federal level, coupled with predictions that discretionary spending will shrink from 18% of the federal budget to 13% of the federal budget if deficit reduction measures continue, necessitate a separate funding stream to add to our current research investment.
How would the money from the fund be allocated?
- The legislation does not direct the dollars to specific areas of medical research. It does not interfere with the normal decision-making process of Congress in allocating money to the NIH.
- The Fund would be allocated to the NIH based upon the percentage that each of the current programs receives
- 95% of the funds would be allocated to the various NIH programs based upon the current percentage of appropriated resources. The NCI is 19% of the NIH; therefore, the NCI would receive 19% of the funds allocated to the Institutes.
- The remaining 5% would be used to support construction and renovation of extramural research facilities, the National Library of Medicine, and other special initiatives of the NIH.
How can you help?
- Contact your two Senators and your Congressional Representative and ask them to support the enactment of the National Fund for Health Research (S. 441) in this Congress.
- Tell them why you think support for cancer research needs to be increased.
- Tell them why effective prevention, early detection, and treatment programs for cancer are important to you.
- Ask them to use their leadership in Congress to conquer cancer.
- You may write any Member of Congress at the following address:
The Honorable [Name]
[United States Senate] or [US House of Representatives]
Washington, D.C. 20510
Senators for Louisiana are John Breaux and Mary Landrieu.
This page is http://www.som.tulane.edu/cancer/public.html
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