WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with National Breast Cancer Coalition President Fran Visco to discuss efforts to protect and increase funding for innovative, breakthrough research at the Department of Defense – funding that has led to discoveries and treatments for cancer and other diseases. They also talked about Durbin’s American Cures Act, a bill that would increase funding at our nation’s top four biomedical research agencies, as well as the Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2015, which would establish the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020.
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“Three years ago, military researchers at the Army’s Cancer Vaccine Development Program completed a federally funded 10-year study of a vaccine which, in trials, halved the risk that a woman’s breast cancer will return,” said Durbin. “This vaccine is just one example of how federal investment in biomedical research has real consequences for real people. I am proud to meet with Fran Visco and continue my efforts with the National Breast Cancer Coalition in fighting to make sure that biomedical research is prioritized in Washington.”
The American Cures Act would augment federal appropriations for biomedical research with a mandatory trust fund dedicated to steady growth in research conducted at National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Defense Health Program (DHP), and the Veterans Medical & Prosthetics Research Program. Each year, the bill would increase funding for each agency and program at a rate of GDP-indexed inflation plus five percent. This steady, long-term investment would allow the agencies to plan and manage strategic growth while maximizing efficiencies.
