Lance Statement on President Trump Signing Childhood Cancer STAR Act into Law

Lance stops by the Relay for Life in Berkeley Heights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07), member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, released the following statement after President Trump signed S. 292, the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, into law.

“It is heartbreaking when a child is stricken with a cancer diagnosis.  We need to improve the federal services for the pediatric cancer community:  from research and access to treatment and survivorship.  The federal health care and research entities must be doing all they can, and the Childhood Cancer STAR Act delivers more resources and reform to make sure we are winning the fight against pediatric cancer by strengthening grants for promising and expanded programming.  I have met with families who have faced these terrible circumstances and I have been touched by their stories of perseverance and hope.  The Childhood Cancer STAR Act delivers for them,” said Lance.

The Energy and Commerce Committee has touted the Childhood Cancer STAR Act as one the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever taken up by Congress, which will help advance both research and treatments for pediatric cancer.  The bipartisan bill reauthorizes and modifies the National Childhood Cancer Registry and establishes programs for pediatric cancer survivors.  It will support the collection of donated biospecimens from children, adolescents and young adults with cancer along with demographic information, create pilot programs to develop and evaluate systems for monitoring and providing treatment for cancer survivors and provide grants to states to improve childhood cancer registries.

Lance has led the Rare Disease Caucus and cancer-related initiatives through recent legislative accomplishments.  In the recent spending agreement, Lance and other lawmakers fought for an additional $2 billion in funding for the National Institutes of Health.  Last week, Lance was selected as one of two lawmakers nationwide to be honored with the Congressional Champion Award by One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC).  OVAC is a coalition of the Nation’s leading public interest groups representing millions of cancer researchers, patients, survivors and their families.

The law further authorizes:

• $30 million a year through FY 2023 for grants to support the National Childhood Cancer Registry
• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) to make awards to support childhood cancer biorepositories available to health care professionals and scientific researchers.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to state cancer registries to enhance and expand infrastructure to track the epidemiology of cancer in children, adolescents and young adults.
• The NIH Director to make grants to entities to conduct or support research relating to pediatric cancer survivors.

WATCH LANCE SPEAK ON THE STAR ACT