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Congressional Update
July 13, 2010
Current Co-Sponsor Count for the
Pancreatic Cancer Research & Education Act:
in the U.S. House of Representatives ( HR 745)
235
(including our lead sponsors, Rep. Anna Eshoo & Rep. Ginny Brown- Waite)
Click HERE for the full co-sponsor list
in the U.S. Senate ( S. 3320)
21
(including our lead sponsor,
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse)
Click HERE for the full co-sponsor list to see if YOUR member has joined us!
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On June 22, 2010, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network held its Fourth Annual Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. The event was a great success – with more than 400 advocates attending congressional meetings. In addition, over 2,000 advocates called their elected officials as part of the National Call-In. To see a synopsis of Advocacy Day 2010 results, click here.
Introduction of our Senate Bill
The Senate version of our historic substantive pancreatic cancer legislation was introduced in the 111th Congress! U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act (S. 3320) on May 6, 2010. Click here to thank Sen. Whitehouse for introducing this historic piece of legislation!
S. 3320 is the companion bill to HR 745. In order for a bill to become a law, the bill must pass separately through both the House of Representatives and Senate. For more information on how a bill becomes a law, click here.
Like HR 745, S. 3320 is based on the National Plan to Advance Pancreatic Cancer Research developed by our Scientific Advisory Board. To read a summary of the bill, click here. To read the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network’s press release on the bill’s re-introduction, please click here.
At this point, the bill has just been introduced in the U.S. Senate. We still have a long road ahead of us to make it into law. Our goal at this point is to get as many Senators as possible to sign on as co-sponsors as well as continue our effort to increase co-sponsorship in the House.
Please visit our Take Action Now page to see how you can help with this effort.
Appropriations Update
Congress is making slow progress on its spending bills for next year and it appears that most spending bills – including L-HHS – will not see final action until after the November mid-term elections.
In the meantime, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees—the congressional panels charged with developing spending bills—recently competed hearings with government health officials and public witnesses. During those hearings, NIH Director Francis Collins was specifically questioned about the NCI’s commitment to pancreatic cancer research. Dr. Collins subsequently submitted a detailed report to the committees, outlining actions taken to date and NCI’s plans for convening a conference on the subject this summer.
In addition, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network submitted testimony to both committees, outlining the need for additional funding for a dedicated pancreatic cancer research initiative and have been meeting with lawmakers to garner support.
Even though Congress may not complete its work on spending bills until later this year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will move forward on developing the appropriations bills. It is therefore critical that we continue the work to ensure this issue is addressed.
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Provides Testimony to Congress
Megan Gordon Don, Director of Government Affairs & Advocacy for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Chair of the Deadly Cancer Coalition, a coalition founded and run by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 23. The hearing entitled "NCI Cancer Research: Today's Progress; Tomorrow's Challenges" also included testimony from Anne D. Barker, Ph.D., Deputy Director, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Robert S. DiPaola, M.D., Member, Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee, American Association of Cancer Research, and Director, Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Kristin Fitzgerald, of Naperville, Illinois who lost her husband to gastric cancer and Jeff Allen, Ph.D., Executive Director, Friends of Cancer Research. Click here to read the testimony
Now is the time for new co-sponsors! How you can help.
We want to make sure that we get as many cosponsors as possible heading into the summer!
Not sure if your U.S. Representative is a co-sponsor of HR 745? Please click here to find out and write to your Representative.
Not sure if your U.S. Senators are co-sponsors of S. 3320? Please click here to find out and to write to your Senators.
Have Twitter? Follow us for the latest breaking advocacy news, including the newest co-sponsors to HR 745 and S. 3320!
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