NEWS

U.S. Presidential Candidates Define Policies on Cancer

Matthew Fritts, Jemarion Jones

As voters head to the polls Nov. 7, they will be influenced by many things: by their own political opinions, by last impressions of the candidates, by media accounts and commentary, by attacks and allegations the candidates have made on each other, and hopefully, by positions the candidates have taken. Although the candidates might have different motivations, all presidential candidates agree that funding for health care should be increased. In alphabetical order, here is what the top contenders had to say about health care, biomedical research, and cancer:

Pat Buchanan

Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan has no specific initiative on cancer; however, he has issued a policy statement on the U.S. health care system. Buchanan believes the health care system, in its current state, is in need of a major overhaul and says "we must focus on options that are less costly, privately controlled and competition driven." Buchanan advocates allowing employees to invest in personal insurance accounts. He believes the accounts, coupled with low-cost catastrophic insurance, will increase health insurance access for low-income families and ensure that major illnesses or accidents will not result in massive debt. For more information, go to http://www.buchananreform.com.

George W. Bush

During a September campaign stop in Florida, Texas Gov. George W. Bush proposed a new health care initiative that would renew the war on cancer launched by President Nixon in 1971 and significantly increase funding for various types of medical research at the National Institutes of Health.



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Gov. George W. Bush

 
Vowing to "fund and lead a medical moonshot to reach far beyond what’s possible to do today and find cures for age-old afflictions," Bush promised to increase the annual budget of the National Cancer Institute to $5.1 billion by 2003.

"There are few greater goals we could set, few greater legacies we could leave than speeding the advancement of medical knowledge and care," said Bush in a statement on his official campaign Web site, http://www.georgewbush.com.

Overall, Bush also vowed to double the budget of NIH over the next 10 years. The additional funding would be used to support research on a variety of diseases including heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and AIDS. Bush’s plan builds on a plan in Congress to double the NIH budget.

"We must also recognize the crucial role of the private sector in the fight against cancer and other diseases, and we do everything we can—and must do everything we can—to encourage it," Bush said at the Florida campaign stop. "Literally, thousands of new medicines are now in various stages of research and testing. These efforts are conducted over many years and require billions of dollars."

In addition to increasing funding for cancer and other medical research, Bush’s plan proposes spending $24 billion to permanently extend the Research and Development Tax Credit. The credit, given to U.S. companies as an incentive to invest in research, is seen by Bush as a way to increase the development of pharmaceuticals and treatments for various diseases.

Al Gore

Al Gore proposed a set of cancer-fighting initiatives based on an "aggressive national commitment" to cancer research, cure, and treatment. He favors strengthening existing programs and exploring innovations in cancer prevention, detection, and care. In a speech at Emory University on June 1, Gore stated his goal of doubling funding for cancer research in the next 5 years: "If I am entrusted with the presidency, I will work to double federal cancer research, to double our progress in preventing cancer and saving lives."



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Vice President Al Gore

 
Gore’s proposed initiatives for cancer prevention include promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing cancer risks. He suggested launching a national counter-advertising campaign to help prevent teen smoking and he suggested empowering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to impose strict financial penalties on tobacco companies. To promote public awareness of cancer risks, Gore wants to create a full registry of environmental carcinogens. He championed a new proposal that would expedite Medicare approval of both state-of-the-art and routinely used prevention and detection benefits.

As vice president, Gore worked to give federal employees time off for cancer screening, and now he aims to push this policy to the private sector. Gore’s other proposals for cancer detection include legislation to eliminate Medicare copayments and deductibles for early detection tests, and to guarantee insurance coverage for patients whose cancers are diagnosed through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s cancer screening programs. Gore’s proposed patient empowerment initiative would facilitate public access to the latest information on prevention, screening, and diagnosis.

Gore highlighted the importance of addressing the enormous racial and ethnic disparities in the availability and quality of cancer care. He plans to convene scientists and patient representatives using a Quality Cancer Care Investment Fund to develop new cancer care guidelines. In addition, Gore proposes a fivefold increase in participation in NCI-sponsored clinical trials by expanding insurance coverage, improving publicity, and facilitating access and entry into trials.

More information is available at http://www.algore.com.

Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader, the candidate of the Green Party, has released no statements on cancer. The National Office of the Nader campaign indicated that Nader "advocates for a greater focus on research on prevention and the causes of cancer" than on treatment. A spokeswoman for the Nader campaign added that Nader is the only candidate who officially supports a universal, single-payer health care system. For more information, visit the campaign’s Web site at http://www.votenader.com.



             
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