Innovative efforts to develop new tools, new analytics, new
ways of thinking, and new ways of working together will help
researchers and their partners in the biomedical research
enterprise forge ahead to the finish line — to the day when
cancer is removed as a major threat to our nation’s citizens
and to future generations. Realizing this bright future requires
that Congress, the administration, and the general public stand
firm in their commitment to the conquest of cancer.
The AACR Call to Action
To fulfill the extraordinary scientific and medical promise of
cancer research and biomedical science, the AACR respectfully
urges Congress to:
• Designate the NIH and NCI as national priorities by providing
annual budget increases at least comparable to the
biomedical inflation rate.
• Protect the NIH and NCI from another year of the insidious
budget cuts from sequestration, and reinstate the $1.6 billion
in funding that the NIH lost in March 2013.
Therefore, the AACR calls on all Members of Congress to
ensure that funding for cancer research and biomedical
science is strongly supported. The AACR also urges all
Americans — the beneficiaries of this lifesaving research —
to make their voices heard by encouraging their policymakers
to provide sustainable increases for the NIH.
If we are to ultimately transform scientific discoveries into
therapies that improve and save the lives of cancer patients,
it is going to require an unwavering commitment of Congress
and the administration to invest in our country’s remarkably
productive biomedical research enterprise led by the
NIH and NCI.
