Advocacy

Speak Up: Tell Congress to Expand Childhood Cancer Research

by St. Baldrick's Foundation
July 24, 2013

Matthias-St-Baldricks-contact-congress

Email your members of Congress today to tell them to cosponsor the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act.

There is a bill in Congress right now that will improve childhood cancer research for kids with cancer. Please urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act (S. 1251/H.R. 2607).

The Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act:

  • Expands childhood cancer research
  • Improves the tracking of childhood cancer cases, and
  • Conducts a federal study into barriers for developing new drugs for kids with cancer.

Email Congress

The bills reauthorize and update legislation passed unanimously by Congress in 2008 that expires on September 30, 2013 — the end of the current federal fiscal year.

The bipartisan bills are sponsored by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Michael McCaul (R-TX), co-chairs of the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus.

The bills provide $10 million per year, for five years, to:

  • Expand childhood cancer research by establishing new biorepositories to collect clinical and demographic data for all kids with cancer. This information would be available to all health professionals to conduct childhood cancer research.
  • Improve the identification and tracking of childhood cancer incidences by state cancer registries.
  • Conduct a study to investigate barriers to developing new drugs for kids with cancer. Conducted by the Government Accountability Office, the study would focus on expanding federal requirements for the pediatric studies of adult cancer drugs and making recommendations for overcoming any barriers. Only two drugs developed specifically developed for kids with cancer have been approved in 20 years.

The bills honor the daughter of former U.S. Representative Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Caroline Pryce Walker, who lost her battle against neuroblastoma at age 9.

Please encourage your members of Congress to cosponsor these bills. The more cosponsors a bill receives, the more likely it is to pass when the House and Senate cast their votes.

If your members are already cosponsors, please express your appreciation and tell them of your concern for kids with cancer.

Join Speak Up for Kids’ Cancer for tips and alerts to communicate with your elected officials.

The following members of Congress are cosponsors of the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Reauthorization Act (updated 7/18/14):

U.S. Senate

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO)

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Bill sponsor

Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA)

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Bill sponsor

Sen. Bernard Sanders (D-VT)

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

U.S. House of Representatives

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL)*

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH)

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)

Rep. Joyce Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)*

Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV)*

Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)

Rep. John Carney, Jr. (D-DE)

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA)*

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN)*

Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA)*

Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)*

Rep. Charles Dent (R-PA)

Rep. Scott Des Jarlais (R-TN)*

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY)

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS)*

Rep. James Himes (D-CT)*

Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)*

Rep. David Jolley (R-FL)

Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)*

Rep. Leonard  Lance (R-NJ)*

Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)

Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)*

Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA)*

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19)

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)**

Rep. James McGovern (D-MA)*

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)*

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY)

Rep. John Mica (R-FL)

Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME)

Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI)*

Rep. James Moran (D-VA)*

Rep. Richard Nolan (D-MN)

Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ)

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN)

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)

Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC)

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)

Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL)*

Rep. David Reichert (R-WA)

Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN)*

Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL)

Rep. Janice Schwakowsky (D-IL)*

Rep. David Scott (D-GA)

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)*

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)*

Rep. Denise Slaughter (D-NY)

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)*

Rep. John Tierney (D-MA)

Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)*

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Bill sponsor**

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI)

Rep. Timothy Walz (D-MN)*

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)*

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)*

Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY)*

Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

  *Member, Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives

** Co-chair, Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, U.S. House of Representatives


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