Vice President Announces Cancer Research and Neutron Source Initiatives

CANCER RESEARCH:

A major component of the Clinton Administration’s 21st Century Research Fund, announced during this week’s State of the Union Address (see FYI #11 ) are significant increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and National Cancer Institute. At a White House ceremony today, Vice President Al Gore described a five-year plan to increase cancer research funding by 65 percent over the next five years. This would be a part of an increase of almost 50 percent in the overall budget for the National Institutes of Health over the same period. The requested increase of $1.15 billion in NIH’s total budget for FY 1999 would be the largest in history.

In opening remarks, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala compared the upcoming cancer research effort to that of putting a man on the moon, predicting it would be the “next great achievement in science and public health.” Shalala said the administration designed the 21st Century Research Fund to speed scientific breakthroughs while attracting and training the next generation’s best scientific minds.

Also speaking were Senator Connie Mack (R-FL) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). Mack said that a major limitation on reducing cancer has been resources, which the budget request will address. Mack said this effort has bipartisan support. Rockefeller called the initiative a “breakthrough...extraordinary...unprecedented.” It was even more remarkable, he said, because “the pressures are terrible” in writing a balanced budget.

Vice President Gore attributed the increase to the persistence of individuals who have long worked to make the case for more money for cancer research. Emphasis will be on all aspects of research: prevention, detection, treatment, and elimination. Pointing to a chart, he said cancer research would increase from $2, 914 million in FY 1998 to $4,808 million in 2003. Spending, which would increase by 10% in the next budget, would be for both research and more clinical trials. There has “never been a better time to invest,” he said, later adding, “The enemy is outmatched; we are going to win this war.”

SPALLATION NEUTRON SOURCE:

Last week, Gore told an audience at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that the administration had selected the lab as the site for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The Department of Energy’s FY 1999 budget request will include $157 million as a “down payment” on construction and development. The SNS’s projected cost is $1.3 billion. This facility, which would produce the most powerful pulsed neutron source in the world, would sustain almost 1,900 new jobs. Noting that the United States no longer has the leading neutron source, Gore said, “Given the medical, scientific, economic and environmental benefits available through neutron science, it would be irresponsible not to reclaim world leadership in this critical field.”