By
Advocacy Action Strength in Numbers
A chorus of voices is needed to stop the drain on research funding
Advocacy: The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea or policy; active support.
Now is the time for all of us to argue, plead, call, write and e-mail our members of Congress to fight for medical research funding. Our advocacy efforts are now more important than ever.
In December 2005, Congress approved the first decrease in the budget of the National Institutes of Health since 1970. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the cut drops the 2006 NIH budget to $28.6 billion, a decline of about 0.1 percent from 2005. Factoring in inflation, the 2006 budget is smaller than in 2003.
SOME GROUPS TO CHECK OUT:
American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org
C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition
www.c-three.org
(see the special political blog section of this website.)
The Lance Armstrong Foundation www.livestrong.org
National Breast Cancer Coalition www.natlbcc.org
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship www.canceradvocacy.org
National Prostate Cancer Coalition www.fightprostatecancer.org
One Voice Against Cancer www.ovaconline.org
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) www.pancan.org