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State of the Union Addresses (last updated June 19, 2002) (back to top) For the past eight decades, the President of the United States has annually made a speech to Congress in January or February that is now commonly referred to as the State of the Union. George Washington gave the first address as a speech in 1790, but his successors over the next century did not actually make a speech and instead presented the address in written format. Woodrow Wilson revived the tradition of a speech in 1913, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt began using the term "State of the Union" in 1935. The address, in some fashion, is constitutionally required. According to Article II, Section III of the Constitution, the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." (full text available here). Recent State of the Union addresses, with annotations, are available via the Resources section of this website as shown below.
 Cancer Research (last updated January 24, 2002) Three decades ago, President Richard Nixon committed the resources of the federal government to curing cancer. "The time has come in America when the same kind of concentrated effort that split the atom and took man to the moon should be turned toward curing this dread disease. Let us make a total national commitment to achieve this goal," Nixon said in his State of the Union message on January 22, 1971. "America has long been the wealthiest nation in the world. Now it is time we became the healthiest nation in the world." At the time, an estimated $220-50 million was spent on cancer research each year. Nixon proposed in his State of the Union message to add $100 million in funding and then "whatever additional funds can effectively be used." Nixon then signed into law the Cancer Act of 1971, which authorized $1.6 billion over the next three years for research ($400 million in FY 1972, $500 million in FY 1973, and $600 million in FY 1974). It also established the National Cancer Institute as a new federal agency within the National Institutes of Health but with its own budget which it would send directly to the president for approval. "I hope that in the years ahead that we look back on this as being the most significant action taken during this Administration," Nixon said in a rare public signing ceremony on December 23, 1971. Three decades later, research into curing and treating cancer continues. In fact, from 1973 to 1990, there was a gradual increase in cancer incidence and mortality rates of about 1-2 percent a year. The mortality rate then peaked in 1990 with 216 deaths for every 100,000 people that year, and has gradually declined each year to 202.4 deaths for every 100,000 people in 1998. The incidence rate peaked in 1992 with 418.5 new cases for every 100,000 people that year, and has gradually declined to 384.5 new cases in 1998. Today, cancer is credited as the cause of almost one in four deaths in the United States, and is second only to heart disease in the number of deaths it causes each year. Still, scientists generally credit the federal government's efforts with helping to develop a better understanding of cancer and to address some forms of the disease, but say that the federal government did not commit the same kind of resources and efforts that it did for efforts such as getting to the moon or developing nuclear weapons. "Unfortunately, only limited research funding trickled out, and we supported only a small skirmish. This was not an American style effort to go to the moon, to crack the atom or to fight a Gulf War. The effort could only support a few thousand investigators to fight only a limited engagement," said Donald S. Coffey from Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, then the vice-president of American Association for Cancer Research, in testimony before Congress in 1998. "Still, six cancers were essentially cured, including those primarily affecting young people, such as leukemia and testicular cancer." "The situation in 1971 was unlike the one in 1961 when the problem was getting to the moon, not curing cancer. In 1961, we knew how to get to the moon. The problem and its solutions were defined 8 years later, and many billions of dollars later man walked on the surface of the moon," said Dr. Leonard A. Zwelling of Houston's M.D. Anderson Hospital, who also testified before Congress in 1998. "The cancer problem was and continues to be different. In 1971, we did not know what cancer was. The problem was not defined, so the solution surely wasn't either." Still the only federal agency specifically devoted to cancer, the National Cancer Institute received $2.9 billion in funding in FY 1999 and $3.3 billion in FY 2000 for research in different categories involving specific cancer sites, cancer types, related diseases, and research mechanisms. Of the FY 2000 funding, 13 percent went for breast cancer research, 7 percent for AIDS, 6 percent for prostate cancer, and 5 percent each for lung and colorectal cancer. According to testimony before Congress, cancer research is now pursuing some promising directions, such as:
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| DISCLAIMER. The materials contained in this website have been prepared by Stephen Lee ("Author") for informational purposes only and do not contain or constitute legal advice. These materials may not reflect the most current legal developments, verdicts or settlements. Furthermore, this information should in no way be taken as an indication of future results. Reading this website is not intended to create, and your receipt and/or use of the information contained herein, does not constitute an attorney/client relationship. You should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Reproduction, distribution or republication of material contained within this website is prohibited unless the prior permission of Author has been obtained. (C) Copyright 2002, 2003 Stephen Lee. All rights reserved. Newsaic and FootnoteTV are registered service marks of Stephen Lee. Mirror Law and Footnote Comics are service marks of Stephen Lee. More information available here. Comments or suggestions to the Site Editor. |
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