Please contact your representatives to urge them to sign on to the letter in support of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
CDMRP's highly innovative research portfolio drives scientific discovery in high-impact research areas not sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies. These include effective peer-reviewed research programs that are working to discover cures for several forms of cancer, including prostate, breast, lung, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, as well as new treatments for neurological diseases, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In particular, the letter requests that any final National Defense Authorization Act (NOAA) Conference Report legislation excludes four provisions in the Senate-passed FY2018 NOAA (Sections 733,891,892, and 893), which would bring the CDMRP to a halt, jeopardizing healthcare for warfighters, veterans,
and their families both now and in the future.
Not one of these provisions was included in the House-passed FY2018 NDAA.
In an analysis of the four Senate provisions at issue, DoD stated: "This language would, in essence, eliminate military family and military retiree relevant medical research, inhibit military medical training programs, and impact future health care cost avoidance. Impacts will take place across all areas... [Researcher] would most likely not want to do business with the DoD ... [These provisions] may create a chilling effect on potential awardees of DoD assistance agreements."
This advocacy initiative is important. On behalf of the prostate cancer community, thank you for taking the time and making the effort to help ensure that current funding is kept in place for prostate cancer medical research at the Department of Defense.
