Last Thursday, 7-time Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong visited the White House to make a push for cancer research funding. As Congress attempts to compromise on a budget and narrow a projected $1.65 trillion deficit, medical research funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which traditionally receives bipartisan support, may be vulnerable. While NIH’s $31 billion budget constitutes only about 0.08% of the entire federal budget, Republicans are proposing over $1 billion in cuts. President Obama proposes a small increase in funding.
NIH, one of the world’s largest medical research institutions, funds research and programs that help battle some of the country’s deadliest diseases, from heart disease to cancer. In 2007, the number of cancer deaths in the U.S. declined for the first time ever, which is in part attributed to the work of NIH.
After leaving the White House, Armstrong tweeted, “Great mtg w/ partners talking about global health and hoping to help save lives around the world.” Earlier in the day he gave a speech at the National Press Club.
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