Congress Passes Continuing Resolution, Research Funding Dips Slightly

On September 30, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution that will fund the government at current levels through December 11. Funding for both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) dipped slightly as part of a 0.21% cut to all nondefense discretionary agencies.

“We have made tremendous progress in our understanding and treatment of cancer over the last four decades, progress that will result in the number of people living with cancer expected to increase from 1.66 million to 2.14 million over the next 15 years. But our nation’s investment in cancer research has remained stagnant since 2003, not even keeping pace with biomedical inflation. We cannot afford to continue on this path, as it will surely result in missed or delayed opportunities to continue to accelerate progress against cancer,” said ASCO Chief Medical Officer Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FASCO.

ASCO is monitoring this situation closely and will continue to urge lawmakers to increase research funding through NIH and NCI. Please continue to visit ASCO in Action at www.asco.org/advocacy for the latest information.  ■