White House Endorses Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act

Administration Announces Support for Legislation Championed by the St. Baldrick's Foundation

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The White House announced its support for the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act, legislation crafted by the St. Baldrick's Foundation and Alliance for Childhood Cancer to allow the programs from the Childhood Cancer STAR Act to continue for five more years. The Administration's endorsement came during the Cancer Moonshot Childhood Cancer Forum today. The Forum also included a panel discussion on the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, which featured Sarah Milberg, St. Baldrick's Foundation Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, as a key speaker.

"September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness, celebrate our accomplishments, and acknowledge the work still needed to conquer kids' cancers. The Childhood Cancer STAR Act is a landscape-changing example of what is possible when volunteers, advocates, and policymakers work together for kids with cancer and childhood cancer survivors," said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of the St. Baldrick's Foundation. "The St. Baldrick's Foundation thanks the Administration for recognizing the importance of the programs created by the STAR Act and for endorsing the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act."

Congress unanimously passed the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act in 2018, the most comprehensive childhood cancer bill in history. The STAR Act expands opportunities for childhood cancer research, improves efforts to identify and track childhood cancer incidences, and enhances the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors.

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), and G. K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act in April to allow these programs to continue for five more years.

"Thanks to the commitment of the White House, unwavering support from childhood cancer champions in Congress, and tireless advocacy from families and volunteers in the childhood cancer community, the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act is quickly building momentum," said Ruddy. "The St. Baldrick's Foundation stands committed to working with Congress and the Administration to ensure this bill is signed into law."

Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, is on a mission to give kids a lifetime by supporting the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. When you give to St. Baldrick's, you don't just give to one hospital – you support virtually every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick's ensures that children fighting cancer now — and those diagnosed in the future — will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the development of new therapies, to life-saving clinical trials. Join us at StBaldricks.org and help #GiveKidsALifetime.

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SOURCE St. Baldrick's Foundation