Advocacy Groups Rally Against Potential Cuts in NIH Funding

On October 27^th, the Senate passed the Labor-HHS appropriations bill by a vote of 94-3.  The measure calls for a $1 billion increase in the NIH budget to $29.4 billion (a 3.7% increase).  An increase of this level would be about equal to the medical research inflation rate. These numbers conflict with those in the House’s FY 2006 budget passed in June, which would increase the NIH funding level by $145 million to $28.5 billion (a 0.5% increase). 

In what promises to be an interesting debate, the differences between the House and Senate version must now be worked out in conference.  House appropriators have not expressed support for the Senate’s figures and numerous budget pressures are mounting related to tax relief, hurricane recovery, and the war in Iraq that are making proposed increases in public health spending more and more tenuous.   Indeed, many legislators in both the House and Senate are looking for ways to reduce both mandatory and discretionary spending.

An important congressional battle now looms on two fronts as advocates are preparing to generate support for the Senate’s proposed $1 billion increase in NIH funding while at the same time trying to fight off potential measures that might result in dramatic cuts to the NIH budget.  

For example, there continues to be serious discussion of an across-the-board cut in discretionary spending, which would include cuts in NIH.  For example, some in Congress are calling for a 2% reduction in all discretionary spending, which would decrease the NCI budget by an estimated $100 million. 

According to a Legislative Action Alert distributed by the American Association for Cancer Research, this proposal “would have a devastating impact on cancer research and be the first actual cut in federal support for cancer research in a decade.”  Numerous cancer advocacy groups including AACR, ASCO, and the American Cancer Society are asking their members to contact Congress and urge them to express support for increases in NIH funding and to oppose measures that would reduce NIH funding.  One Voice Against Cancer organized a call-in and lobby day on November 1^st in an effort to generate some collective opposition to potential cuts in NIH funding.  The American Society of Clinical Oncology also distributed an action alert “urging its members across the country to join with thousands of cancer advocates in asking Congress to stop potential reductions in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that might result from across-the-board spending cuts.” 

For more information about how to get involved, please see the following websites:
> American Cancer Society
> Research America

FOCR and AACI Bring Cancer Center Leaders to Capitol Hill

On October 18^th, Friends of Cancer Research and the Association of American Cancer Institutes partnered to bring a small group of cancer center leaders to Capitol Hill for meetings with key members and staff. The purpose of these meetings was to share a cancer center view on possible reforms at NIH and to provide some insights into how changes in the way the NIH is structured and funded may affect the cancer center community.  Participants included directors from the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in California, the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in North Carolina, the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ireland Cancer Center in Ohio, the UC Davis Cancer Center in California, the Eppley Cancer Center in Nebraska, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ohio, and the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center in California.

NCI Deputy Director Dr. Mark Clanton Speaks at GW/FOCR Distinguished Lecture Series

The GW Cancer Institute and Friends of Cancer Research, in conjunction with the GW Department of Medicine and Medical Grand Rounds recently hosted the second lecture of the Distinguished Lecture Series, “Cancer Health Policy, Delivery Systems and Regulatory Affairs.” The keynote speaker was Dr. Mark Clanton, Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute and Cancer Care Delivery Systems.

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Friends of Cancer Research on the Red Carpet for "The Weather Man" Movie Premiere starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine

Above: Pictured from left to right: Lisa Paulsen, CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation; Nicolas Cage; Marlene Malek, President of FOCR; Ellen Sigal, Chair and Founder of FOCR; and Alan Balch, Executive Director of FOCR.

We would like to acknowledge and graciously thank the Entertainment Industry Foundation for their generous donation to Friends of Cancer Research in honor of the New York premiere of Paramount Picture’s film “The Weather Man” starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine.  The premiere, which took place at the Time Warner Building’s Jazz at Lincoln Center Theater on Monday evening October 24, featured a star-studded audience including Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, Hope Davis, Gore Verbinski, Steve Tisch, and others.  The movie, which is set in Chicago and New York, follows the tumultuous life of popular Chicago weatherman Dave Spritz, played by Cage, as he navigates the ups of his professional career and the downs of his personal relationships.  In trying to overcome the challenges, including confronting a cancer diagnosis in the family,  Spritz finds that, “The harder he tries to control events, the more he finds life, like the weather, is completely unpredictable,” (Paramount Pictures).  The movie opened in theaters nationwide on Friday October 28^th – for more information visit http://www.weathermanmovie.com/

FOCR Participates in Deloitte and Touche's Women's Initiative Seminar on Breast Cancer

As part of FOCR’s efforts to educate about the importance of research, Friends coordinated a web seminar with Deloitte and Touche in New York that featured renowned doctor and researcher Dr. Larry Norton, Medical Director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in NYC.  The event, which was part of a larger series put together by Deloitte’s Women’s Initiative (WIN), reached hundreds of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu employees nation-wide through ‘web-nar’ enabled technology.  The session included a powerpoint presentation by Dr. Norton, an introduction to cancer advocacy from Friends of Cancer Research chair and founder, Dr. Ellen Sigal, and a live question and answer session in which Deloitte and Touche employees from across the nation participated by sending in questions over the internet. (Pictured above from left to right: Dr. Ellen Sigal of FOCR, Dr. Larry Norton of Sloan-Kettering, and Ann Weisberg of Deloitte.)

Look for a full summary of the presentation, including Dr. Norton's top five suggestions for preventing breast cancer, in next month's newsletter.

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