Frustration has swept across the childhood cancer advocacy community at the end of this year. It can be really difficult understanding how all of the legislative pieces fit together to help support those with childhood cancer and their families.

Here is a quick overview of the five pieces of legislation that had gained a lot of support across both the House and the Senate over the past two years, however, only the one is now active.

    Our collective childhood cancer community and champions worked very hard on a final push to ensure Congress would adopt these policy priorities before adjourning for the year—policies that would have helped children with cancer, families, and seniors. There was a lot of political drama last week, and we are deeply disappointed that many of our top federal priorities didn’t make it across the finish line this session. While passage of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act to extend funding for critical pediatric cancer research was a positive step forward, lawmakers cut the remaining critical bipartisan policies from the spending package that would have benefited childhood cancer patients and their families.

    Elevate is a member of CAC2, the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer,  which is spearheading an effort and inviting all in the community to call on Congress to make children with cancer its number one priority when it reconvenes in January.

There are two ways you can support this effort:

Sign the call to action HERE.

Promote the efforts on social media through Elevate’s multitude of platforms, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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   We are deeply disappointed that Congress left kids with cancer behind in its end-of-year package. But we’re not giving up. Elevate, along with other organizations and families, are urging the 119th Congress to prioritize them in January.

Children with cancer have waited long enough–it’s time to finish the job.

Read the full statement: HERE

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Additional references; resources: HERE

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