The deficits resulting from the war on Iraq and Bush's huge tax cuts for the rich have provided an excuse for the Bush regime to underfund important domestic programs. One of which is breast cancer research. Breast cancer research, AIDS research, and other medical research is an area that has been a far too low priority for politicians in Washington who spend more in a month on the Iraq conquest than they do on breast cancer research in a year.

From the Advocacy Alliance Action Alert on breast cancer funding (default text):

We are requesting:

* $250 million for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the federal government's breast cancer screening program for low-income, uninsured women, in partnership with OVAC. This $250 million is $5 million more than the authorized level for 2009.

* $21.5 million for patient navigators who can help guide cancer patients through the emotionally and financially draining health care system.

* A 6.9 percent increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a 9.5 percent increase for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the federal government's 2009 budget to account for inflation and make up for flat funding over the past several years.

Sadly, the President's budget proposes flat funding or even cuts for these programs. Clearly, with inflation factored in, there is not enough to maintain these programs at current levels - much less undertake new life-saving research or expand services to more women in need!

As your constituent, I ask you to support a responsible investment in cancer. The federal government spends about $5 billion annually researching cancer, yet the disease costs our nation more than $200 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity. Funding for cancer programs has remained essentially flat over the last several years. Please make sure these agencies are properly funded.