Advocate’s Corner: March 2024
It was a busy and exciting month for OCRA’s policy team and advocates from all across the country. OCRA’s 2024 Spring Advocacy Day took place on March 20, during which 140 advocates met with their Members of Congress and urged them to support increased funding for education and research programs focused on ovarian and related gynecologic cancers.
Act Now: Share Our Letter Urging Congress to Support Funding for Research and Awareness.
OCRA’s advocates participated in nearly 180 virtual meetings with legislators, representing 37 states and 106 congressional districts, to push for increased funding to support crucial programs:
- $50M to fund the Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
- $10M to create a new Endometrial Cancer Research Program at CDMRP
- $20M for the Ovarian Cancer Control Initiative (OCCI)
- $15M for Johanna’s Law (also known as The Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act)
In addition, our advocates urged legislators in the House to cosponsor the reauthorization of Johanna’s Law and sign onto a Dear Colleague appropriations letter requesting $50M for OCRP.
With many of our asks being considered over the coming weeks, the full impact of these meetings is still to come. Thanks to the hard work of our incredible advocates, many legislators agreed to support our priorities on the spot:
- 20 agreed to support $15M to fund Johanna’s Law (CDC), and 7 agreed to cosponsor
- 20 agreed to support $20M for the OCCI (CDC)
- 19 agreed to support $50M to fund the OCRP within DOD’s CDMRP
- 15 agreed to support the creation of $10M Endometrial Cancer Research Program at CDMRP
We will continue to track the impact of our meetings in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can still add your voice to the fight and urge support with a short message to Congress. If you haven’t done so already, please send your message today!
With gratitude,
Chad Ramsey, Vice President, Policy