Political Quotes

“This bill is an example of Congress functioning at its best. As introduced, Congresswoman Eshoo and Congressman Lance's legislation addresses a policy goal that resonates with many of us--making progress in our fight against pancreatic cancer. In fact, nearly 300 Members of the House--Democrats and Republicans alike--are co-sponsors of this legislation. Through the Committee process, Members and staff worked on a bipartisan basis to respond to input from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute (NCI), pancreatic cancer advocates, and cancer researchers. I believe the end result--the bill before us today--represents a fair and balanced approach. H.R. 733 now focuses on a broader category of cancers, the so-called recalcitrant or deadliest cancers. The legislation directs the NCI to develop scientific frameworks to guide research efforts on recalcitrant cancers--defined as those cancers with 5-year relative survival rates below 50 percent. The bill requires the Director of the NCI to complete frameworks for at least 2 recalcitrant cancers that meet additional criteria set forth in the bill--having a 5-year survival rate of less than 20 percent and causing at least 30,000 estimated deaths--within 18 months of enactment. It is my expectation that NCI will begin first with pancreatic and lung cancer. But in doing so, I also expect NCI to consider applying the scientific framework model to other recalcitrant cancers.…”