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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, today received the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s (ACSCAN) National Distinguished Advocacy Award for leading efforts to increase federal investments in medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Last week, Blunt secured the third consecutive $2 billion increase for NIH in the bipartisan, committee-passed FY2018 funding bill.

“The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 1.6 million Americans will be newly diagnosed with cancer this year, and more than 600,000 will die from the disease,” Blunt said. “Prioritizing investments in lifesaving NIH research will help scientists and researchers develop new treatments and cures, and give hope to cancer patients and their families. That’s why I’m pleased that, for the third year in a row, the committee worked together to provide a $2 billion increase for NIH.”

As chairman for the last three years, Blunt has successfully included a $2 billion increase for NIH in every Labor/HHS bill the subcommittee has put forward, amounting to a 20 percent increase for the agency during that time.

Blunt continued, “It’s an honor to receive this award from one of the nation’s leading cancer research advocacy organizations, and I look forward to continuing to work with ACSCAN and my Senate colleagues to ensure we maintain a pattern of sustained investments in NIH medical research.”

The FY2018 Labor/HHS appropriations bill provides $468.9 million for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including $80 million for its precision medicine program, which allows doctors to use specific genetic information to tailor treatments to patients and improve outcomes of care.

In December 2015, Blunt secured a $2 billion increase for NIH in the FY2016 omnibus appropriations bill, which included a five percent increase for NCI. This was the first significant increase for NIH in over a decade. In June 2016, Blunt included another $2 billion increase for NIH in the bipartisan, committee-passed FY2017 Labor/HHS appropriations bill.

In addition to his efforts as Labor/HHS subcommittee chairman, Blunt has cosponsored the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act. The STAR Act is a bipartisan, comprehensive bill that would expand opportunities for childhood cancer research, improve efforts to identify and track incidence of childhood cancer, and enhance the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.