Mon, Mar 1, 2021 - Thu, Mar 4, 2021

MRF Advocacy Days

MRF Advocacy Days is VIRTUAL!

The MRF's Advocacy Days is the largest melanoma advocacy event of the year and unites melanoma advocates on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress to urge them to make melanoma a national priority. Patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and community partners travel from across the country to share their stories and take their message to the Hill.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event will be VIRTUAL, but together we can still make a big impact! Experience with talking to members of Congress is not required for this event. The MRF will provide you with the tools, resources and training you need to make your voice heard!

Anyone who is passionate about telling their story and making a difference for the millions of Americans impacted by melanoma can attend this annual event. This year, the MRF will host a half-day virtual program on March 1, 2021 to brief you on key issues impacting the melanoma community and provided education and resources for successful meetings with your lawmakers.

No need to schedule your own meetings with your Senator or House Representative; the MRF will work with you to schedule virtual meeting with your lawmakers and/or their staffers. Due to the virtual nature of the event, meetings will be scheduled between the afternoon of March 1 through March 5 at 5:00PM ET depending on the availability of the member of Congress and your schedule. To schedule meetings with your representatives, we will be using Voter Voice, please register here.

Due to the virtual platform, attendees will need a computer or other device that can run the virtual meeting platforms, such as GoToMeeting and Microsoft Teams, and a phone in the event meetings are conducted via phone. Meetings will be scheduled at the availability of the Representative or Senator and/or their staff. Meetings will be held via Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting or phone call based on the needs of the Congressional office.

Advocacy Days Legislative Agenda:

Fiscal 2022 Defense-funded Melanoma Research

Support $40 million for Defense-funded melanoma research in the Fiscal 2022 Department of Defense Appropriations bill
Ask your Representative to sign onto Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s letter to House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in support of $40 million for Defense-funded melanoma research
Ask your Senator to contact Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, in support of $40 million for Defense-funded melanoma research in Fiscal 2021 Defense Appropriations bill

Fiscal 2022 Funding for National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute

Support $3.2 billion overall increase for the National Institutes of Health (over Fiscal 2021 level of $42.9 billion)
Support $7.609 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI Professional Judgement Budget for Fiscal 2022)
Include Melanoma language under National Cancer Institute in the Committee Report accompanying the Fiscal 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill
Support NIH’s Office of Rare Diseases

CDC’s Skin Cancer Prevention Activities

Support $5 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Skin Cancer Prevention Activities in the Fiscal 2022 LHHS Appropriations bill ($4 million in Fiscal 2021 for CDC’s skin cancer prevention line)

Request that the Food and Drug Administration’s Proposed Rule on Prohibiting Minors from Using Tanning Beds

Ask your Member of Congress to request that the FDA finalize the proposed rule entitled “General and Plastic Surgery Devices: Restricted Sale, Distribution, And Use of Sunlamp Products,” originally published by the FDA in the Federal Register on December 22, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 79493 et seq.)
The FDA proposed rule prohibits minors under 18 from using tanning beds and requires adult tanning bed users to be informed about the serious health risks of indoor tanning through a risk acknowledgement citation, including notification of the risk of developing fatal melanoma and other skin cancers.

Please check back often as more details are coming soon!

Together We Can

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) Advocacy Program is a platform for those affected by melanoma to share their voice and transform melanoma care. Whether you are a patient, caregiver, survivor, healthcare professional or partner, YOU play a critical role in the advancement of better outcomes for the over one million Americans living with melanoma and their loved ones.