[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8757-S8758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. Gregg):
  S. 2955. A bill to improve data collection and dissemination, 
treatment, and research relating to cancer, and for other purposes; to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, today, I am proud to join with the 
ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee in introducing and the 
National Cancer Act of 2002. We believe that this is the proverbial 
first step of the thousand mile journey toward the

[[Page S8758]]

goal of making cancer death rare by the year 2015.
  First, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that we are not the 
first in the Senate to drop a cancer bill. Indeed, fired the first 
salvo in our Nation's conflict with cancer with the passage of the 
National Cancer Institute Act back in 1937. This law, established the 
National Cancer Institute, (NCI), within the public health service and 
directed the Surgeon General to promote cancer research.
  In 1971, responding to the call of President Nixon, Congress 
officially declared war on cancer with the passage of the National 
Cancer Act of 1971. This law established the Director of the National 
Cancer Institute as one of two Presidentially appointment posts within 
all of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the '71 Act gave 
the Director the ability to bypass the normal budget process and submit 
the NCI budget directly to the President, a privilege that is entirely 
unique throughout the Executive Branch. With our declaration of war our 
Nation saw the establishment of the President's Cancer Panel, the 
National Cancer Advisory Board, the International Cancer Research Data 
Bank and the first cancer center. The stated goal of the country that 
had just landed a man on the moon was to cure cancer within a decade.
  Since 1971, we have seen 31 years pass, six Presidents sworn in, 15 
sessions of Congress, and ten different bills signed into law with the 
goal of ending the prolonged war on cancer. This year over half a 
million Americans will die from cancer. It is for them, and for the 1.2 
million Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer, and for the 
millions of cancer survivors who are living beyond this disease that we 
introduce this bill today.
  Ours is the time is history when we must reinvigorate the battle. 
Thanks to advances in treatment and increased screening and early 
detection, between 1990 and 1997, for the first time in history, the 
number of cancer deaths and diagnoses have declined. However, to whom 
much is given, much is expected. The National Cancer Act of 2002, 
answers the call and lays out a battle plan for the next, and hopefully 
final attack in the war on cancer.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I am very pleased this morning to introduce 
this bill with my good friend Senator Brownback. Our bill, the National 
Cancer Act of 2002, is an important step forward in making survivorship 
of cancer the rule in this Nation and cancer mortality the rare 
exception. I want to thank our good friends in the cancer and pain care 
communities who have provided critical feedback during the development 
of the Act. Our bill will: Enhance coordination between State 
registries and between those registries and Federal cancer control and 
research efforts, with a focus on developing interoperability and 
compatible hardware/software infrastructure. Reauthorize the successful 
CDC Breast and Cervical Cancer screening program, with expansion 
encouraged for colorectal cancer screening. Improve NIH efforts in the 
area of pain and palliative care research and dissemination of 
information to patients and providers. Expand access for patients to 
experimental therapies, both in NIH-funded clinical trials, privately-
funded manufacturer trials and access for terminal patients to 
therapies that have not yet been approved by FBA. Encourage Congress 
and the Administration to address several of the most significant 
cancer-related problems in the Medicare system.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on the HELP Committee to 
move this important piece of legislation this year. I know that we all 
share the agenda of combating this public health problem facing so many 
Americans.
                                 ______