WASHINGTON -- February 16, 2012 -- "Congressional negotiators have announced a deal that would raid the federal Prevention and Public Health Fund to help pay for the payroll tax and Sustainable Growth Rate legislation. This is a deeply regrettable about-face that will undermine the nationwide effort to prevent death and suffering from cancer and other life-threatening diseases through expanded access to proven prevention and early detection tools.
"The prevention fund was created to save lives by improving access to lifesaving screening tests, tobacco cessation programs and better nutrition and fitness options at the state and community level. By steering funds away from prevention efforts focused on keeping people well, Congress is pulling back from its prior commitment to the common-sense goal of saving lives and money by preventing deadly and costly chronic disease.
"This latest proposal to cut funding for disease prevention comes after President Obama released a budget proposal this week that would use the prevention fund to plug budget holes in ongoing programs and cut more than one-fifth of the fund's overall budget by 2021. We hope the president and Congress will soon recognize that sacrificing disease prevention in the name of budget austerity makes no economic sense and diminishes our ability to improve public health."
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss or Alissa Crispino
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5711 or (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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