LITTLE ROCK — Congress has the opportunity to pass a significant piece of legislation, The Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act (HR733/S362). The bills have substantial bipartisan support in both chambers with 226 co-sponsors in the House, and 44 co-sponsors in the Senate. Despite the overwhelming support for this bill, Congress remains unable to act.
The bill will require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and implement a strategic plan to combat pancreatic cancer, which is the fourth-leading cause of all cancer deaths. It is estimated that more than 43,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2012, and most will die within one year of diagnosis.
Pancreatic cancer is the only cancer tracked by the government with a five-year survival rate in the single digits. In 40 years, that rate has only increased to a mere 6 percent. There is no cure, and treatment options are limited and inadequate. Alarmingly, there is no screening test currently available. Little is known about risk factors, and all too often, very young and very healthy individuals in the prime of life are handed what amounts to an automatic death sentence.
The legislation was introduced in the Senate and House on Feb. 16, 2011. The Senate shelved the bill in the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The House referred the bill to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which further assigned the bill to the Health Subcommittee.
Despite bipartisan support and the potential to affect the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year, the bill currently languishes in the halls of Congress. It is ludicrous that the Health Subcommittee held a hearing this past Tuesday to review “the current state of the cosmetics industry,” but is unable to schedule hearings on the Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act.
Of the six members of the Arkansas congressional delegation, Sen. John Boozman and Reps. Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin and Mike Ross are to be congratulated for leading from the front by co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation. Sen. Mark Pryor and freshman Rep. Steve Womack have, unfortunately, decided to lead from behind, if leading at all.
Pryor has stated that he wants to wait for this year’s budget hearing to review Health and Human Services’ budget for cancer research. However, even if pancreatic cancer is discussed, given the minuscule amount (2 percent of the cancer budget) it is allotted, what difference will that make?
Without the bill, nothing will change. Pancreatic cancer will continue to be shortchanged as it has in previous budget cycles. It seems Pryor would rather make excuses than stand up for a bill that can mean the difference between life and death.
Womack has often commented that he does not want to get into the business of picking winners and losers. But he has also declared that Republicans need to win in the next election. No problem picking a winner and loser there.
Our representatives are elected to make tough decisions that frequently result in creating winners and losers. Take, for example, Womack’s signature piece of legislation, the Marketplace Equity Act of 2011. It would require all sellers to collect sales tax, regardless of the seller’s location. I believe this act panders to Wal-Mart at the expense of Wal-Mart’s major online competitor, Amazon.com. Again, Womack had no problem selecting a winner and a loser.
Womack has stated that he prefers to leave matters such as pancreatic cancer in the hands of the medical professionals. To him, then, continuing to relegate the fourth-leading cause of all cancer deaths to a mere 2 percent of the cancer research budget is completely acceptable. He surely understands that, without congressional intervention, nothing will change. Health and Human Services will maintain the status quo, which will mean another 40 years of failure, and continued loss of precious life to this insidious disease at an ever-increasing rate.
It is incumbent upon Congress to provide the necessary oversight of agencies within the executive branch. To relinquish these leadership responsibilities, as Pryor and Womack have done, is not only reckless, but feckless.
The Pancreatic Cancer Research and Education Act is a major lifesaving piece of legislation with unprecedented bipartisan support that Congress and the Arkansas delegation can pass right now.
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Retired Navy Capt. Paul N. Bruno has been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He lives in Bentonville.
Editorial, Pages 18 on 03/31/2012