III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 408 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should declare lung 

cancer a public health priority and should implement a comprehensive 

interagency program that will reduce lung cancer mortality by at least 

50 percent by 2015. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2006 

Mr. HAGEL (for himself and Mrs. CLINTON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President should 

declare lung cancer a public health priority and should 

implement a comprehensive interagency program that 

will reduce lung cancer mortality by at least 50 percent 

by 2015. 

Whereas lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for 

both men and women, accounting for 28 percent of all 

cancer deaths; 

Whereas lung cancer kills more people annually than breast 

cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer combined; 

Whereas, since the National Cancer Act of 1971 (Public Law 

92–218; 85 Stat. 778), coordinated and comprehensive 


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research has elevated the 5-year survival rates for breast 

cancer to 87 percent, for prostate cancer to 99 percent, 

and colon cancer to 64 percent; 

Whereas the survival rate for lung cancer is still only 15 percent and a similar coordinated and comprehensive research effort is required to achieve increases in lung cancer survivability rates; 

Whereas 60 percent of lung cancer is now diagnosed in nonsmokers and former smokers; 

Whereas 2⁄3 of nonsmokers diagnosed with lung cancer are 

women; 

Whereas certain minority populations, such as black males, 

have disproportionately high rates of lung cancer incidence and mortality, notwithstanding their lower smoking 

rate; 

Whereas members of the Baby Boomer generation are entering their sixties, the most common age for the development of cancer; 

Whereas tobacco addiction and exposure to other lung cancer 

carcinogens such as Agent Orange and other herbicides 

and battlefield emissions are serious problems among 

military personnel and war veterans; 

Whereas the August 2001 Report of the Lung Cancer 

Progress Review Group of the National Cancer Institute 

stated that funding for lung cancer research was ‘‘far 

below the levels characterized for other common malignancies and far out of proportion to its massive health 

impact’’; 

Whereas the Report of the Lung Cancer Progress Review 

Group identified as its ‘‘highest priority’’ the creation of 

integrated, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research 


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consortia organized around the problem of lung cancer 

rather than around specific research disciplines; and 

Whereas the United States must enhance its response to the 

issues raised in the Report of the Lung Cancer Progress 

Review Group: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 

2 President should— 

3 (1) declare lung cancer a public health priority 

4 and immediately lead a coordinated effort to reduce 

5 the mortality rate of lung cancer by 50 percent by 

6 2015; 

7 (2) direct the Secretary of the Department of 

8 Health and Human Services to increase funding for 

9 lung cancer research and other lung cancer-related 

10 programs within a coordinated strategy and defined 

11 goals, including— 

12 (A) translational research and specialized 

13 lung cancer research centers; 

14 (B) expansion of existing multi-institu15 tional, population-based screening programs in16 corporating state of the art image processing, 

17 centralized review, clinical management, and to18 bacco cessation protocols; 

19 (C) research on disparities in lung cancer 

20 incidence and mortality rates; 


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1 (D) graduate medical education programs 

2 in thoracic medicine and cardiothoracic surgery; 

3 (E) new programs within the Food and 

4 Drug Administration to expedite the develop5 ment of chemoprevention and targeted therapies 

6 for lung cancer; 

7 (F) annual reviews by the Agency for 

8 Healthcare Research and Quality of lung cancer 

9 screening and treatment protocols; 

10 (G) the appointment of a lung cancer di11 rector within the Centers for Disease Control 

12 and Prevention with authority to improve lung 

13 cancer surveillance and screening programs; 

14 and 

15 (H) lung cancer screening demonstration 

16 programs under the direction of the Centers for 

17 Medicare and Medicaid Services; 

18 (3) direct the Secretary of Defense, in conjunc19 tion with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to de20 velop a broad-based lung cancer screening and dis21 ease management program among members of the 

22 Armed Forces and veterans, and to develop techno23 logically advanced diagnostic programs for the early 

24 detection of lung cancer; 


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1 (4) appoint the Lung Cancer Scientific and 

2 Medical Advisory Committee comprised of medical, 

3 scientific, pharmaceutical, and patient advocacy rep4 resentatives to work with the National Lung Cancer 

5 Public Health Policy Board and to report to the 

6 President and Congress on the progress and the ob7 stacles in achieving the goal described in paragraph 

8 1; and 

9 (5) convene a National Lung Cancer Public 

10 Health Policy Board comprised of multiagency and 

11 multidepartment representatives and at least 3 

12 members of the Lung Cancer Scientific and Medical 

13 Advisory Committee, that will oversee and coordi14 nate all efforts to accomplish the mission of reducing 

15 lung cancer mortality rate by 50 percent by 2015. 

Æ 


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