Last week, activists from across the nation traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for increased federal funding for cancer research and prevention.
One Voice Against Cancer, a coalition of public health advocacy organizations dedicated to securing greater federal investment in cancer research, held its annual lobby day on March 6.
OVAC said the event united more than 80 cancer advocates representing numerous organizations across the nation to urge lawmakers to implement a 2025 fiscal year budget “with the highest possible increases for cancer research and prevention.”
With Congress nearing the deadline for its 2025 budget, advocates met with Congressional members and their staff to ask for their support for funding increases for NIH and CDC’s cancer programs as well as the National Cancer Institute.
OVAC is lobbying for funding increases of $51.3 billion in funds for NIH, compared to the organization’s roughly $47.4 billion budget in 2024; $7.9 billion for the National Cancer Institute, up from $7.2 billion; and $472.4 million for CDC’s cancer programs, up from roughly $410 million.
This year’s OVAC Lobbying Day came as health organizations, such as the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control, have faced lay-offs at the request of the Department of Government Efficiency.
NIH has also announced a 15 percent cap on indirect costs payments made to help cover hospitals’ and research institutes’ administrative costs, at the request of DOGE.
NIH is the largest federal funder of medical research in the U.S. In 2023, the organization provided more than $35 billion in grants to more than 2,500 universities for biomedical research.
In Alabama, the cap on indirect costs has raised concerns regarding the research and treatment capabilities of NIH funded health systems, such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
While a preliminary injunction filed by a U.S. District Court judge has blocked the new indirect cost rate’s enactment, officials from UAB said the proposed cuts could cost the university $70 million a year.
Emily Abney, an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer from Cullman, served as a representative for Alabama during the OVAC Lobbying Day, meeting with officials from the offices of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.
Both Tuberville and Britt have publicly endorsed DOGE’s attempts at reducing government spending.
Britt, however, has publicly expressed greater caution regarding the scope of DOGE’s cuts, telling AL.com she would work with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ensure cuts to NIH funding don’t come at the cost of public health in states like Alabama.
“Every cent of hard-earned taxpayer money should be spent efficiently, judiciously, and accountably—without exception,” Britt said, continuing, “While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama.”
Tuberville, meanwhile, has remained more vocally in favor of DOGE and critical of NIH.
During a February appearance on WVTM, Tuberville criticized a federal grant issued to UAB for studying the vaginal health of transgender men on testosterone which he called “embarrassing.”
During last week’s Senate confirmation hearing for NIH director nominee Dr. Jatanta Bhattacharya, Tuberville urged Bhattacharya to work toward “radical transparency” at NIH and urged him to ensure NIH funds don’t go toward studies on gender affirming care.
“I share the ideas and desire that the president has to root out waste and the fraud that we have in this country. Because if we don’t, we’re not gonna have a country left. It’s gonna be gone,” Tuberville told Bhattacharya.
Abney told APR she was apprehensive going into her meetings with representatives from Tuberville and Britts’ offices, but felt optimistic coming out of both meetings regarding the senators’ willingness to support greater federal cancer funding.
“We had an overwhelmingly positive experience with everyone we met with,” Abney said. “Given our current political climate obviously, we know there’s a lot going on, so we didn’t really know what to expect, but all of my interactions went well.”
Abney said she felt Tuberville’s office seemed responsive to her requests for cancer research funding increases.
“They kind of told us that, you know, while he’s in favor of suspending in other areas, that he is supportive of the importance of cancer research funding and the NIH and NCI. And so, that was really great to hear with all that’s going on,” Abney said of her conversations with officials from Tuberville’s office.
Abney said officials from Britt’s office told her she could “rest assured” the senator would support the proposed funding increases.
Abney said, while she understands the desire to cut government spending, she argued doing so for cancer research and treatment is irresponsible since cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States.
“Sure, while there may be areas that, you know, economically we can address cuts, I don’t think that we should be cutting funding to cancer research and cancer prevention programs. To me that seems kind of like nonstarter,” Abney said.
“I think it’s important that we underscore that cancer is something that, at some point, will affect everyone, whether it’s you or someone you know,” Abney said. “And I think we need to focus on funding research for that and funding advances for patients and funding helping take care of those patients.”
When asked for her response to lawmakers in favor of government cost-cutting, Abney urged members of Congress to attempt to keep partisan politics out of decisions regarding medical research funding.
“They should work together urgently in a bipartisan way to finish the fiscal year 2025 spending bill and include the highest possible increases for cancer research and cancer prevention funding. Because there’s no way we can go on without these things, and this will save lives and this will change lives,” Abney said.
While Abney said she was doubtful the Trump administration will reverse course on its NIH cuts, she hopes Congress will enact budget increases to ensure cancer research and treatment isn’t hindered.
“I don’t feel super confident in the way that things have been going, but I’m hopeful that our Congress can work together in a way that advances cancer research and funding,” she said.
