Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr. represents the 10th Congressional District of New Jersey

Undoubtedly you saw the countdowns on your local news stations Š—– sequestration took effect on Friday. Sequestration is what Washington is calling the $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts to domestic and defense discretionary spending agreed upon in the 2011 Budget Control Act. While a lot remains unknown about how the cuts will affect us, we know one thing is for sure: funding for cancer research and prevention programs is taking a dangerous hit.

The TPP trade negotiations present an important opportunity to begin, and set a precedent for, treating tobacco products differently to achieve the economic development, poverty alleviation and health goals the president discussed.

I was pleased to hear President Obama mention the need to invest in science and innovation in TuesdayŠ—'s State of the Union address. Cancer patients and survivors nationwide need a renewed commitment from Congress and the administration to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute at levels that keep up with inflation and allow promising research to continue.

To illustrate just how crucial federal funding is for cancer research, ACS CAN released a new report this week, Š—“Catalyst for Cures: How Federally Funded Cancer Research Saves Lives.Š— This report underscores the threat posed by sequestration to future progress in the fight to end death and suffering from cancer by highlighting federally-funded scientists who have discovered new ways to treat specific cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer and the patients who benefited from those advances.

Today, as we do every February 4, we commemorate World Cancer Day. Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (IUCC), World Cancer Day is a day for the global cancer community to come together and make our voices heard as we raise awareness about the need to make the fight to defeat cancer an international priority.

ThatŠ—'s why ACS CAN conducted a poll in key states across the country to find out how the public feels about this issue. The results released today show that registered voters in these key states Š—– Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico and Texas Š—– want their state to accept federal funds that are available to broaden access to health coverage through Medicaid.

A key government report released last month speaks to the importance of ACS CANŠ—'s work on nutrition. The report, issued by the Federal Trade Commission, looked at how much money the food and beverage industry spends on marketing its products to children and teens.

Dr. Richard L. Deming is a highly inspirational physician and cancer center medical director who serves as a member of the ACS CAN Board of Directors. At our last Board meeting, I had a chance to hear Dr. Deming discuss his recent, incredible journey to Nepal.

This week marks not only the start of a new year, but also the anniversaries of two very important laws to assist the fight against cancer.