Biden to Travel to Massachusetts to Tout Cancer Moonshot
WASHINGTON — On the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s Rice University speech committing the United States to landing a man on the moon, President Joe Biden will travel to Boston, Massachusetts, to renew his pledge to “end cancer as we know it.”
Biden is expected to use his remarks next week at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum to draw parallels between the goals of his Cancer Moonshot and Kennedy’s vision, which culminated in Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to walk on the moon in July 1969.
“When President Kennedy committed to putting a man on the moon and bringing him back, the United States had the building blocks to know that was possible,” a senior administration official said on Wednesday, providing a preview of the president’s remarks.
“There were major scientific and societal advances that needed to happen. As a nation, we needed to fully commit to a future in which traveling to the moon was possible — and we did just that,” the official said.
“Today, we have many of the building blocks needed to make significant progress treating cancer, but we must come together to deliver on the promise. And because of incredible advances in science, technology, and medicine, we can already begin to see what is possible,” the official added.
During his speech, Biden will lay out that vision and provide an update on steps the administration is taking to realize this generation’s moonshot, not only to end cancer as we know it, but, again in the words of the administration official, “to change people’s lives — improving their health and decreasing the burden of disease.”
The Cancer Moonshot mission started in 2016 when then-Vice President Biden led an effort to double the rate of progress against cancer, and championed the bipartisan passage and enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act.
Through this law, Congress invested $1.8 billion, providing seven years of new funding for cancer research in many areas including studies on cancer disparities, new clinical trial networks to drive drug discovery, and innovative projects examining childhood cancer.
As president and vice president, Biden has made addressing the challenge of cancer a top, personal priority.
In February 2022, he kick-started a renewed effort by setting a series of new goals:
- Cut the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years.
- Improve the experience of people, their families, and caregivers living with and surviving cancer.
Since the Biden administration took office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued more than $200 million in grants to advance national cancer prevention and control through cancer screening programs reaching every state, U.S. territories and tribal organizations.
In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched a new, voluntary Enhancing Oncology Model designed to place cancer patients at the center of decision-making that provides equitable, evidence-based cancer care that is more affordable.
In related action, the Department of Veterans Affairs proceeded on rulemaking to name eight rare respiratory cancers to its list of presumed service-connected disabilities related to toxic exposure, and is now leading the implementation of the bipartisan PACT Act, so veterans with cancers and other diseases may now be eligible for health care and expedited disability claims.
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