Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Ms. MENG. Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak on amendment number 63 which has been included in the first en bloc package. My amendment seeks to increase funding for the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program by $8 million in order to fight bladder cancer, brain cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, lymphoma, melanoma and other skin cancers, mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, and cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults.

I'd like to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky for their support of this measure, and for accepting it into this package. It is my hope that this additional funding will be used to contribute to the creation of a cure for these horrific cancers. Every year, millions of Americans die far too early from these diseases. Perhaps, however, our actions here today will lead to a world where future generations will not have to know the pain of such losses. Thank you to each of my colleagues who supported this measure, and to the many groups who lent their support as well--including: Action to Cure Kidney Cancer, American Brain Tumor Association, American Urological Association, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Bladder Cancer Action Network, Fight Colorectal Cancer, Melanoma Research Foundation, and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

We may not know the end of cancer in our lifetimes, but I pray we can find it during my children's. I submit the following letter: June 15, 2016.

Dear Member of Congress, The undersigned organizations strongly support the recent approval by the Senate Committee on Appropriations of $60 million for the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) in their version of the fiscal year 2017 Defense Appropriations Act.

We are therefore encouraged to learn of an amendment that will be offered by Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) to the House version of the Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2017 (H.R. 5293) to move funding for the PRCRP closer to the Senate level. Specifically, the Meng amendment increases by $8 million the $30 million appropriation for the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) included in the bill.

Funded at $50 million in fiscal year 2016, the PRCRP funds innovative, cutting-edge research on a variety of cancers. Since Fiscal Year 2009, the PRCRP has funded innovative basic, applied, and translational cancer research to support our nation's military service personnel, their families, and the American public. Members of the military are exposed to hazardous environments due to the nature of their service and deployments and are therefore at risk for the development of many types of cancers. Funding innovative and translational research, the PRCRP focuses on the gaps in cancer research with respect to unique situations and military environments.

As approved by the House Committee on Appropriations, H.R. 5293 provides $30 million for the PRCRP and includes as eligible areas of study: bladder cancer, brain cancer, colorectal cancer, listeria vaccine for cancer, liver cancer, lymphoma, melanoma and other skin cancers, mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, and cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults.

House approval of the Meng amendment would bring the PRCRP funding level closer to the $60 million approved by the Senate Committee on Appropriations in their version of the Defense Appropriations. We hope that you will support this amendment to ensure the strongest possible funding level is included in the House-Senate conference for the final enacted version of the Defense Appropriations Act.

Thank you for your consideration of this important request. Sincerely,

Action to Cure Kidney Cancer, American Brain Tumor Association, American Urological Association, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, Bladder Cancer Action Network, Fight Colorectal Cancer, Lymphoma Research Foundation, Melanoma Research Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

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