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Reps. Higgins & King lead bipartisan effort to expand support for cancer research in 2020 budget

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Wed, Apr 3rd 2019 10:55 am

91 members join call for greater investment in National Cancer Institute

Congressmembers Brian Higgins (D-NY-26) and Peter King (R-NY-2) are leading a bipartisan effort in Congress to provide at least $6.522 billion in overall funding for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in fiscal year 2020 – a $378 million increase over FY2019 levels, and $1.275 billion more than proposed in the White House 2020 budget.

Higgins and King, who serve as co-chairs of the House Cancer Caucus, sent a letter signed by 91 members of the House of Representatives, appealing to leaders of the Appropriations Committee to support a greater national investment in cancer research.

A recent Congressional Research Service review of total funding to the National Institutes of Health between 1994 and 2019 shows the purchasing power of NIH funding peaked in 2003, the end of the five-year doubling of funding for the NIH. So, when comparing constant 2019 dollars, NIH funding has decreased overall by 9 percent, and NCI investments specifically have dropped 25 percent since 2003.

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