On November 28, the House approved the FY2002 defense spending bill (H.R. 3338) by a vote of 406-20. Several women’s health research programs are funded under the bill: $175 million would be provided for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) peer-reviewed breast cancer research program, $12 million would be provided for ovarian cancer research, and $4 million would be provided for osteoporosis research. Funding levels for breast and ovarian cancer remain unchanged from the FY2001 levels. However, funding for osteoporosis research was reduced by $2 million. Additionally, $14 million would be provided for the development of a comprehensive breast care center.
The House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the FY2002 defense spending bill also included recommendations made by the committee for the establishment of “a systematic program, in coordination with the National Cancer Institute, to foster the early detection and prevention of cervical cancer including research into a vaccine for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).”
Noting the need for increased emphasis on ovarian cancer research, the report urges the DoD “to use the additional $12,000,000 provided for this program to continue the DoD Ovarian Cancer Research Program under the auspices of the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program.”
