DISEASE WINNERS AND LOSERS
Singer-songwriter and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow also testified at the House panel's hearing, expressing support for a second bill that would provide $40 million annually for five years for federal research into environmental factors linked to breast cancer.
"There is little financial incentive for anyone else to do this research," Crow told lawmakers.
She added: "I have no idea why I got breast cancer or what I can say to others on how to prevent it."
Some Republicans and a federal health official said the research bill would tie the government's hands and interfere with science.
"In general, prescribing a specific way of conducting federal research could have the unintended consequence of narrowing the field of inquiry and promoting an unwise use of precious resources," said Deborah Winn, associate director of epidemiology and genetics at the National Cancer Institute.
Because the bill establishes a panel to set research priorities, it could hamper current efforts, Winn said.
A Senate companion bill includes changes related to the peer review process that could make a compromise possible, Winn said.
The committee's top Republican, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, said he is worried that Congress is too susceptible to the power of disease groups.
For example, advocates for breast cancer are among the most organized and best funded advocacy groups, Barton said. If Congress responded to their entreaties, it would be "picking winners and losers in terms of who gets the most research. Where does that leave liver cancer? ... What about autism ... diabetes?" he asked.
