August 17, 2011 – Brain tumor advocates from Maryland including board members Jeff Kolodin and Cord Schlobohm met with Representative Chris Van Hollen (MD-8) Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee and Member of the Congressional Supercommittee to encourage him to keep brain tumor patients and bio-medical research at the top of the priority list going into the fall 2011 budget negotiations.
August 5, 2011 – National Brain Tumor Society leaders met with senior directors of brain tumor research at the National Cancer Institute. NBTS builds relationships with clinical trials staff and The Cancer Genome Altas. Leaders advocate for utilization of systems biology research in clinical trials design.
August 2011 – Over 250 brain tumor advocates urged Congress to maintain funding for the National Institutes of Health. Through NBTS take action page, advocates quickly and easily wrote to their Senators and Representatives.
July 14, 2011 - NBTS as a Member of the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) coalition, the largest group of organizations focused on cancer funding in the U.S., urged Congress to give high priority to the National Institutes for Health as the Fiscal Year 2012 budget is crafted. The coalition's letter describes why it is important to keep up the fight against cancer. Amidst the debate over the federal debt ceiling and deficit reduction, the OVAC coalition is an important vehicle for the entire cancer community to be unified about the importance of cancer research funding. In May, NBTS volunteer Gina M. represented our BT community at the OVAC advocacy day where volunteers with many other forms of cancer advocated together.
July 5, 2011 - NBTS sent a letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them to maintain funding for the Peer Review Cancer Research Program (PRCRP). The Program, funded by the Department of Defense is supporting several important pediatric brain tumor research projects aimed at finding new therapies with fewer adverse effects. In addition to research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, the PRCRP is an important part of the federal government's arsenal of programs that are fighting brain tumors through research. Brain tumor community advocates urged Congress during Brain Tumor Action Week in May to maintain the program during the current difficult fiscal climate.
June 24, 2011 - NBTS sent a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees calling for funding to be maintained in Fiscal Year 2012 for the National Institutes of Health, including the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
June 16, 2011 - Brain tumor community advocates called and wrote to their U.S. Senators in early June to urge them to sign a letter of support for appropriations for the National Institutes for Health. The letter was written and distributed on a bipartisan basis by Senators Casey (D-PA) and Burr (R-NC). Over 4 days the advocacy effort paid off and 41 Senators signed on. NBTS and many other cancer groups coordinated by the One Voice Against Cancer Coalition joined in the effort.
