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Extension of Unique Prevention & Research Agency Maintains Texas’ Role in Cancer Fight

June 10, 2017

AUSTIN, Texas – With his signature, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday helped ensure the state would continue leading the fight against cancer and that new life-saving treatments would be available to tens of thousands of Texans fighting this deadly disease.

Senate Bill 81 extends the sunset review date by two years to ensure that the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas can expend all the funding that was approved by voters in 2007. With a cap of $300 million annually, CPRIT would have been unable to use its full funding authority before reaching the sunset dates previously set.

“Ten years ago, the state committed to finding cures for cancer when Texans voted to create CPRIT,” said ACS CAN Texas Government Relations Director Cam Scott. “CPRIT has benefited families in every single county across the Lone Star State by providing cancer prevention and screening services to those who would not have access otherwise and making the latest developments available to Texans through clinical trials.”

In addition to the progress CPRIT continues to make in reducing cancer’s toll in Texas, the agency makes a significant economic impact across the state. CPRIT’s direct and indirect economic activities were responsible for $8 billion in Texas business activity and 79,075 jobs in fiscal year 2016. For every dollar invested in screening and prevention program, $21.89 is saved in treatment costs and preserved work productivity.

Several legislators championed CPRIT’s sunset extension. ACS CAN and its volunteers thank Rep. Sarah Davis, Sen. Kirk Watson and Sen. Jane Nelson for working to enact this legislation to extend the sunset date and for their continued support of cancer patients and their families in Texas. 

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