As Congress works to map their federal spending for Fiscal Year 2015, advocacy organizations and members of Congress alike have been announcing their funding priorities for next year. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) joined One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) early this year in asking for $32 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, asking that Congress "end the erosion of cancer research funding." The Meso Foundation applauds Congress for its bipartisan support for prioritizing National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for Fiscal Year 2015 and its efforts to increase federal funding for cancer research.

186 members of the House, including 23 Republicans, support the funding request in a letter to the chairs and ranking members of both the full House Appropriations Committee and its Labor-HHS subcommittee. The letter, organized by Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.), and Peter King (R-N.Y.), requests that NIH receive "at least $32 billion" in FY 2015, stating:

"We feel this amount is the minimum level of funding needed to reflect the rising costs associated with biomedical research. Full funding for NIH is critical if the agency is to continue to serve as the world's preeminent medical research institution and our best hope for finding cures, improving treatments, and gaining a better understanding of the complex causes of diseases that affect millions of Americans."

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