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GR Forum Addresses Presidential Election, Key Issues
Photo: Ross Frommer, JD
Photo credit: Randy Belice
AACI held its annual Government Relations (GR) Forum on Monday, October 21, in conjunction with the 2024 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Chicago. The meeting was attended by more than 60 government relations representatives and AACI sustaining members, who discussed timely cancer-related public policy topics.
The meeting began with election updates delivered virtually by surrogates representing the two major presidential campaigns. On behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign, Dr. Kavita Patel, a physician and health care policy expert, shared insights on the campaign’s health policy views. Next, Trump-Vance campaign surrogates Dr. Robert R. Redfield, an esteemed public health leader with over 30 years of experience in infectious diseases, and Michael Caputo, a seasoned political strategist, outlined their campaign's vision for health policy.
Ross Frommer, JD, (pictured), vice president and associate dean, Office of Government & Community Affairs, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, provided a state of play for election season and highlighted current voting trends. Dr. Daniel B. Rodriguez, the Harold Washington Professor at the Northwestern University Law School and an expert in administrative law and constitutional law, also participated in the forum. He spoke about the recent Loper Bright Supreme Court decision and how it could impact cancer centers and institutions that engage in advocacy activities with federal agencies.
Concluding the meeting were updates from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Office of Government and Congressional Relations and from AACI Sustaining Members, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA), and Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC).
Looking Ahead
With this year's historic presidential election, it is imperative that AACI cancer centers build and strengthen relationships with the incoming administration to build on the momentum established under the Biden administration toward "ending cancer as we know it."
Congress
It is anticipated that at least one of the two congressional bodies will likely change leadership. According to Cook Political Report, 203 seats are expected to go Democratic and 207 seats are expected to go Republican, with 25 toss-up seats. For the U.S. Senate, it is projected that 45 seats will go to Democrats and 51 seats will go to Republicans, with 4 toss-up seats.
FY 2025 Budget
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget still has not been passed. The government is currently being funded by a continuing resolution (CR), which was passed on September 25 to fund the government until December 20, 2024 at FY 2024 levels. Ultimately, how Congress tackles the budget in the post-election/pre-inauguration, "lame duck" session will likely depend on the results of the election. It is unclear if they will come to an agreement on an FY 2025 budget prior to the end of the CR shift the responsibility to the 119th Congress.
With a new Congress, presidential administration, and budget year on the horizon, AACI government relations department looks forward to continued collaboration with member cancer centers to build critical relationships and advance our shared policy goals.