UPDATE (Dec. 22, 2022): Following this week’s Senate vote, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his final signature. Thank you to everyone who advocated for this reauthorization in 2022 — your efforts have ensured that crucial research will continue for years to come!

Last night, the Senate unanimously passed the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act. First passed in 2018, the STAR Act is the most comprehensive legislation addressing pediatric cancer in U.S. history. Its reauthorization provides four additional years of funding for the programs established in the original STAR Act. Thank you to everyone who advocated this year on behalf of patient families and children with brain cancer. Your voice matters and helped make the Senate’s vote possible!

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote before the end of the year. If you haven’t done so, please reach out to your local legislator and urge them to support the STAR Reauthorization Act when it is brought to the floor for a vote.

HOW TO CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE:

• Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and say: “Hi, can you please connect me with my U.S. Representative? My zip code is [zip], thank you.”
• Once you are connected with their office or voicemail, say the following about the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act: “Hi, I’m [your name], one of your constituents from [your town or city]. I want to urge you to protect the health of childhood cancer patients and survivors in any end-of-year package by supporting the Childhood Cancer STAR Reauthorization Act. This bill ensures that pediatric cancer research continues to be funded. Children with cancer are desperate for research into safer treatment options. They are often an afterthought in the broader cancer community, and many of our dedicated researchers rely on the federal government to support their efforts. [Please feel free to share why these issues matter to you and your loved ones.]”
• If your Representative has co-sponsored STAR Reauthorization, you can also call them to thank them for their support.

More information about the STAR Reauthorization Act can be found in our September Legislative Update. If you have any questions about a specific bill or reaching out to your legislators, please get in touch with Mike Henry, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation’s Director of Advocacy, at [email protected].