Text 3961, 134 rader
Skriven 2007-01-17 23:31:10 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0701172) for Wed, 2007 Jan 17
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President Bush Participates in a Roundtable on Advances in Cancer
Prevention
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 17, 2007

President Bush Participates in a Roundtable on Advances in Cancer
Prevention
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, Maryland

President's Remarks

˙˙˙˙˙ Fact Sheet: A New Era in Cancer Prevention ˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Health
Care

11:11 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Michael. I appreciate you joining us. I love coming
to the NIH, it is an amazing place. It is an amazing place because it is
full of decent, caring, smart people, all aiming to save lives. And I truly
believe the NIH is one of America's greatest assets. And it needs to be
nourished.

And I'm real pleased to be working with Elias and the good folks who work
here to make sure that there's ample resources to fund these incredible
projects that are taking place. And we'll talk about some of them today.
The purpose of the meeting is to let the American people understand what
kind of work takes place here, and some of the practical applications of
the discoveries that are being made. Obviously, we're all very concerned
about cancer. And, John, thank you for joining us.

First, I'm pleased that we're funding cancer research. We're up about 25
percent or 26 percent since 2001; it's a commitment that I made when I
first came to Washington, it's a commitment we're keeping. And the reason
why it makes sense to spend taxpayers' money on cancer research is that we
can make some good progress, and have. Interestingly enough, this is the
second consecutive year there was a drop in the number of cancer deaths in
the United States. And the drop this year was the steepest ever recorded.
And the reason I bring that statistic up is that progress is being made. In
other words, there are tangible results as a result of the research that
takes place around the country, and a lot of it focused here at the NIH.

I had a fantastic experience today with some smart docs talking about how
they can use genetic research, which Francis will talk about, to create
cures for a lot of diseases. We particularly focused on kidney cancer
today. And I strongly believe that it makes sense for us to progress and
take advantage of the research that the Human Genome Project has yielded.

However, I really want to make it clear to the Congress that I hope they
pass legislation that makes genetic discrimination illegal. In other words,
if a person is willing to share his or her genetic information, it is
important that that information not be exploited in improper ways -- and
Congress can pass good legislation to prevent that from happening. In other
words, we want medical research to go forward without an individual fearing
of personal discrimination.

Finally, I'm real pleased about the announcement made earlier on the HPV
virus -- vaccine. I don't know if our citizens know, but 70 percent of all
cervical cancer comes from HPV virus. And as a result of good work here and
other places, a vaccine has been developed that the government will
dispense to those who qualify, all aiming to continue to build on the
progress being made in dealing with cancer.

And, so, I'm very pleased with the jobs you folks are doing here. And I'm
so grateful for you all to join us; I'm looking forward to hearing what you
have to say. You'll be happy to hear my long-windedness is about to end.
(Laughter.) But thanks for coming.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: That's good. I wish that people could walk the halls here at
the NIH and meet the scientists and employees of this fantastic
organization. It is amazing. You talk about young and smart and bright and
excited -- with all due respect, Docs -- (laughter) -- you've got a lot of
really bright people here, which is another subject for another time. But
we better make sure we get the right education working to make sure that
our scientists are given the tools and encourage young kids to become
scientists in the first place, so that these halls remain full of people.
Because as Doc said -- he said, if we're not doing it, somebody is going
to, and we want it done here in America. We want -- I mean, we want to
welcome scientists here, too.

And the other thing that struck me was that people from around the globe
that are here working. So, anyway, you're doing a good job. We're spending
about $28.6 billion here at the NIH, which was doubled from 15 years ago, I
think it was, or something like that.

Thank you. Michael.

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: John, first, before you do it -- if you don't mind --
National Cancer Institute. Tell people what it is, how it works, if you
don't mind.

* * * * *

DR. NIEDERHUBER: It's a very exciting time in my long career -- which you
were kind enough to point out to me, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I wanted the taxpayers to understand we've got a man
of expertise here -- (laughter) -- setting you up for success.

DR. NIEDERHUBER: I've never experienced a time when science has been so
exciting and been moving at such a rapid pace. This is just an unbelievable
opportunity. I'm very honored to be here.

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for serving.

DR. NIEDERHUBER: I'm honored to be here, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: A man who doesn't like all the initials. (Laughter.)

* * * * *

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. I'm excited and I appreciate the work
being done here in Washington, the work being done at the grassroots level.
I thank you for your articulate presentation, both of you all. And this
government supports what's happening in order to save lives, and we will.

Thanks.

END 11:54 A.M. EST

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