Vol. 1., No. 6
December 9, 2011
- The Super-Committee Failure and What It Means For Us
- Congress Working to Pass FY 12 Appropriations Package (Again)
- 2011 Public Policy Accomplishments
The Super-Committee Failure and What It Means For Us
As you know the Congressional Super-committee appointed to present a bipartisan plan to reduce the federal deficit failed to reach its goal. This means that unless there is a change in law, there will be automatic cuts to federal programs in 2013. No one wants to see the cuts go into effect. During the next few months in Congress, there will be efforts to both prevent the scheduled cuts and certainly to mitigate them. The Super-Committee’s failure means that there is still going to be a need to come up with a deficit reduction plan in 2012. It will not be an easy task given that it is an election year. The failure also means that every Member of Congress has a chance to weigh in on plans to reduce the deficit - and that in turn means that we can play a key role by urging our respective senators and representatives to prioritize funding for diseases like brain tumors at the top. Let’s work together to do so.
Congress Working to Pass FY 12 Appropriations Package (Again)
With just a few days left before the end of another continuing resolution (the law that extends level funding for the federal government) on December 18, Congress is working to put together another spending package for the rest of the fiscal year. Still at stake is funding for the National Institutes of Health and because of this, funding for brain tumor research is also still at risk. Thanks to your advocacy throughout this year, there is clear bipartisan support for biomedical research to find new therapies for life-threatening diseases such as brain tumors. This is a significant advocacy milestone. But now is not the time to stop. Please take a moment to contact your Members of Congress to urge their support for research funding. All you need to do is go to www.braintumor.org/takeaction. If you have written a letter to Congress recently then please write a follow up letter to encourage your Senators and Representatives to finish the holiday season by standing up for people facing brain tumors in their community.
2011 Public Policy Accomplishments
Again, thank you all for your outstanding advocacy this year. We’ve been able to stave off further budget cuts to the National Institutes for Health this year (so far) and are poised to be an even more powerful advocacy force next year. Hundreds of new members of the brain tumor community have signed up to be advocates and a passionate group took Capitol Hill in May for Brain Tumor Action Week. With your support National Brain Tumor Society is now an advocacy voice at the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services and with Congress.
As we move into 2012, we will work to accelerate the process of moving research to therapies at the Food and Drug Administration, and continue to advocate increased availability of essential health care services for brain tumor patients and caregivers. Stay tuned for the 2012 public policy agenda in early January.
I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season.
David F. Arons, J.D.
Director of Public Policy
darons@braintumor.org
Past Updates
Vol 1., No. 1
Vol 1., No. 2
Vol 1., No. 3
Vol 1., No. 4
Vol 1., No. 5
