Capitol Hill Lobbying
The STAR Act
Yesterday, about 150 families from across the country descended on Washington, DC to tell our stories to our elected officials and their staffers. This is all part of the Alliance for Childhood Cancer "Action Days". The Alliance is a select group of about 30-40 organizations representing both the 'professional' side (i.e. American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Clinical Oncology) as well as 'advocacy' groups such as St. Baldrick's and The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. I am one of the Membership Co-Chairs.
Our main 'ask' this year is for support of the "STAR Act", which stands for Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research. This childhood cancer legislation has, so far, received uncharacteristic bi-partisan support. Going into our visits yesterday, there were 216 House Co-Sponsors (151 Democrats, 65 Republicans) and 18 Senate Co-Sponsors (15 Democrats, 3 Republicans). I had the pleasure of being joined by B+ supporter, Deb Lewis, as we visited with Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Cong. John Carney (D-DE), and a member of Sen. Tom Carper's (D-DE) staff. I will keep you updated on the progress of this legislation.
This is a REALLY slow process, but between the inclusion of childhood cancer in the Moonshot Project and the momentum behind the STAR Act, I have to say that it really feels like we're starting to be heard.
Breakthrough Research at Duke
I hope you all saw the amazing story on "60 Minutes" this past Sunday evening about using the polio virus to fight high grade gliomas. This is very, very promising work and I hope you all are as excited as I am that your foundation, The B+ Foundation, is a lead funder in the extension of this work into a pediatric clinical trial that will open later this summer.
Please remember to follow us on Facebook and participate in our upcoming Starboard VIP Black Tag auction and to register for our 10th Annual B+ 5k Run/Walk.
Thanks.
B+
Ali & Andrew's Dad