House Passes Nolan Amendment Adding $6 million for Lung Cancer Research Under Health Defense Program in FY2019

Statement

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed Congressman Rick Nolan's bipartisan amendment adding $6 million for lung cancer research programs at the Department of Defense. The measure restores research funding levels from $14 million back to the original $20 million figure Congress approved in 2009.

"To put my amendment into perspective, a study by the Walter Reed Medical Center reports that the cost of treating lung cancer in active military soldiers and military veterans every year is roughly $564 million dollars," said Nolan. "According to that same study, our military veterans are up to 75 percent more likely to develop some form of lung cancer than people who did not serve in the armed forces. We know that's due to exposure to asbestos, diesel fuel, depleted uranium, burn pits and, of course, Agent Orange during the Vietnam era.

Nolan added that he was glad to see his Democrat and Republican colleagues agree that this modest increase in military lung cancer research funding to $20 million dollars next year is more than reasonable -- and a sound and necessary investment of public dollars. In remarks on the floor of the House, the Eighth District lawmaker noted that these extra funds would make an enormous difference in battling lung cancer -- a disease that greatly affects our military service members and Veterans and kills an estimated 159,000 Americans every year.

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