(March 12, 2019)
“The President’s proposed FY2020 budget released by the White House on Monday seeks to cut medical research funding at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) by 15 percent – almost $900 million dollars compared to FY2019 funding. The budget also slashes the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Chronic Disease Program by almost 20 percent, which funds several critical cancer control and prevention initiatives, including those focused on ovarian and other gynecologic cancers.
These cuts — if enacted — would seriously impede the tremendous progress that scientists have made over the past few years. Cancer patients are relying on the breakthroughs resulting from this research to increase their chances for survival and a drop in funding, particularly of this magnitude, will only further set back potentially life-saving advancements. The stakes are particularly high for ovarian cancer, where in spite of recent breakthroughs, progress has lagged relative to other cancers and mortality rates have not significantly changed in decades.
OCRA urges Congress to reject the President’s proposed cuts and instead, provide additional funding for NCI and CDC. Historically this critical funding has received bipartisan congressional support in both the House and Senate, with both sides acutely aware of the importance of sustained, or increased, medical research funding. The proposed cuts are short-sighted and will not only seriously impact cancer patients, but will also undermine the United States as a global leader in biomedical research.”
Audra L. Moran, President and CEO of Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance
ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Oppose Cuts to Medical Research
