Special to The Leader

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives, on Friday, passed H.R. 6, The 21st Century Cures Act, including $1.75 billion in mandatory funding for the medical research at the National Institutes of Health for each of the next five years.

A statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) President Chris Hansen follows:

“The legislation’s infusion of funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute is long overdue, and it reflects the broad bipartisan consensus that making research a national priority will lead to advances in the detection and treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer.

“Federal funding for medical research has declined more than 22 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2003, forcing cancer centers to delay promising clinical trials and drying up the grant pool relied upon by researchers.

“Past federal investment in research has led to detection tools and treatments that have improved survival rates and quality of life for a number types of cancer. As we understand more about the genetic makeup of different types of cancer our ability to eliminate death and suffering from this disease broadly depends on sustained and robust funding for research.

“ACS CAN commends Chairman Fred Upton and Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Gene Green (D-TX) for their bipartisan efforts to include this important funding for medical research, underscoring the national importance of providing adequate resources to fight a disease that will kill more than 589,000 Americans this year – or more than 1,600 today.

“Thousands of ACS CAN volunteers from across the country have called, emailed and contacted their Members of Congress through social media urging support of the 21st Century Cures bill. We call on the Senate to take up this important legislation and make much-needed funding for cancer research a reality.”

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.