Trump Urges Congress to Boost Childhood Cancer Research Funding by $500 Million

What’s the story?

• President Donald Trump used his State of the Union Address to call for a $500 million increase in funding for medical research on childhood cancer over the next ten years.
• “Tonight, I am also asking you to join me in another fight that all Americans can get behind: the fight against childhood cancer,” the president said, before introducing a “a very brave 10-year-old girl, Grace Eline.”

• Eline was diagnosed with brain cancer last year, and rallied her community to raise more than $40,000 for the fight against the disease. "You are a great inspiration to everyone in this room," Trump told Eline, who is in remission after receiving radiation treatment.
• “Many childhood cancers have not seen new therapies in decades,” Trump continued. “My budget will ask the Congress for $500 million over the next 10 years to fund this critical life-saving research.”

Is Trump’s research boost “inadequate”?

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “trashed” Trump’s research proposal, an aide told Politico.
• “$500 million over 10 years – are you kidding me?” Pelosi said during a closed-door conference meeting, according to an aide in the room. “Who gave him that [$50 million] figure? It’s like the cost of his protection of his Mar-a-Lago or something.”
• The National Cancer Institute currently has a nearly $6-billion-dollar annual budget. And the Obama administration’s cancer “moonshot” resulted in Congress approving $1.8 billion over seven years towards finding a cure.
• “We’re talking about a moonshot,” Pelosi said during the conference meeting. “He’s talking about a trolley ride.”

What do you think?

Is $500 million over 10 years “inadequate”? Should Congress devote more funds to childhood cancer research? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo: Screengrab State of the Union)