[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SUPPORT BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, last night the President spoke to Congress 
and to the Nation about the need for increased funding for biomedical 
research, both to improve the quality of life of our Nation's citizens, 
and to generate new economic investment. He is right, and we must heed 
his call on this initiative.
  Cancer research is a vital part of our Nation's biomedical research 
enterprise, but our Federal commitment to this promising field has not 
kept up with the rapid place of scientific innovation. In fact, when 
you take into account medical inflation, our funding commitment to the 
National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health has 
actually been cut over the past 7 years. We can, and must, do better.
  We will only see new, promising cancer therapies that increase 
survival and life quality through a sustained, multi-year commitment of 
Federal funding for cancer research. There is only one failure in 
cancer research. It's when you quit or you're forced to quit because of 
lack of funding. When Federal cancer funding is cut or not sustained 
over the long term, we lose not only promising cancer research, but we 
also lose talented cancer researchers.
  President Nixon recognized this 40 years ago when he signed the 
National Cancer Act. At that time, less than 50 percent of cancer 
patients lived 5 years beyond their diagnosis. Today, with advances in 
early detection, healthy lifestyles, and new cancer therapies, the 
survival rate is 65 percent for adults and 80 percent for kids. That 
would not have happened without a significant investment in Federal 
research funding. The National Cancer Act led to a continued, sustained 
investment in cancer research that funded the research community to 
develop a new generation of smart drugs that help thousands of cancer 
patients every single day.
  Smart drugs are highly targeted to attack fast-growing cancer cells 
without damaging healthy cells. Drugs like herceptin for breast cancer, 
avastin for lung cancer, gleevec for gastrointestinal stromal tumors 
inhibit or block cancer cell growth. In fact, less than 10 percent of 
cancer deaths are attributed to the original tumor. It's when cancer 
metastasizes, when it grows, when it advances to a vital organ the 
cancer becomes lethal.
  All this could not be more important to the community that I serve in 
western New York. Buffalo, New York, gave the Nation and the world 
cancer research when the New York State Cancer Laboratory was first 
established by Dr. Roswell Park in 1897. Roswell Park Cancer Institute 
continues that mission today. And the research put out by doctors has 
led to many breakthroughs that alleviate suffering due to cancer every 
single day.
  Roswell Park is one of 40 National Cancer Institute-designated 
comprehensive cancer centers around the country that are the engine for 
our Nation's war on cancer. An important part of Buffalo and western 
New York's future relies upon the success of research completed at 
Roswell and companies at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus coming to 
market, creating new small businesses, and high-quality jobs. If we 
don't have a sustained investment in cancer research moving forward, 
the promise of that research and the jobs it will create will be lost. 
The time to act is now. Cancer is estimated to cost our Nation $263 
billion in 2010 alone, according to the National Institutes of Health.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support a renewed commitment to 
cancer research because there is no better time than now. Alleviating 
suffering and death due to cancer in our lifetime should not only be 
Congress's goal; it should be America's goal. And we should insist on a 
huge Federal investment toward that goal.

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