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herbert hoover was born on August 10, 1874
he was named to head the U.S. Food Administration. Hoover was the right man for the job, which guided the effort to conserve resources and supplies and to feed America's European allies.
Hoover was able to channel 34 million tons of American food, clothing, and supplies to war-torn Europe.
About 15 million Americans were jobless and almost half the United States banks had failed by 1933.

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Herbert Hoover, in full Herbert Clark Hoover, (born August 10, 1874, West Branch, Iowa, U.S.-died October 20, 1964, New York, New York), 31st president of the United States (1929-33). Hoover's reputation as a humanitarian-earned during and after World War I as he rescued millions of Europeans from starvation-faded from public consciousness when his administration proved unable to alleviate widespread joblessness, homelessness, and hunger in his own country during the early years of the Great Depression. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.)

Hoover was the son of Jesse and Hulda Hoover. His father was a hardworking blacksmith and farm-implement dealer and his mother an extremely pious woman who eventually adopted Quakerism. Amid the streams, woodlands, and rolling hills around West Branch, Iowa, the young Hoover enjoyed an almost idyllic childhood-until age six, when his father died from heart disease; his mother died of pneumonia three years later. The orphaned Herbert then left Iowa for Oregon, where he grew up in the home of John and Laura Minthorn, his maternal uncle and aunt. His parents' character and religiosity and the trauma of his early childhood left an indelible mark on the young Herbert, instilling in him the self-reliance, industriousness, and moral concern for the needy, abandoned, and downtrodden that would characterize him for the rest of his life (his favourite book was David Copperfield). In classic Quaker fashion, his speech, dress, and demeanour were unadorned. Hoover was a member of the first class at Stanford University (1895). He graduated with a degree in geology and became a mining engineer, working on a wide variety of projects on four continents and displaying exceptional business acumen. Within two decades of leaving Stanford, he had amassed a personal net worth of about $4 million.

Hoover, Herbert The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

Caught in China during the Boxer Rebellion (1900), Hoover displayed his gift for humanitarian rescue by organizing relief for trapped foreigners. He drew on his China experience in 1914, when he helped Americans stranded in Europe at the outbreak of World War I. For the next three years, he headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium, overseeing what he called "the greatest charity the world has ever seen" and exhibiting impressive executive ability in helping to procure food for some nine million people whose country had been overrun by the German army. So skilled was Hoover's performance that President Woodrow Wilson appointed him U.S. food administrator for the duration of the war. Relying primarily on voluntary cooperation by the American public, Hoover won wide support for "wheatless" and "meatless" days so that as much of the nation's agricultural output as possible could be sent to soldiers at the front. Recognized by war's end as the "Great Engineer" who could organize resources and personnel to accomplish extraordinary acts of benevolence, Hoover was the natural choice to head the American Relief Administration. The ARA sent shiploads of food and other life-sustaining supplies to war-ravaged Europe-including Germany and Bolshevik Russia during the famine in that country in 1921-23. The outreach to Soviet Russia garnered Hoover much criticism, but he defended his actions on humanitarian grounds, saying, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed."

Hoover, Herbert Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

In 1921 President-elect Warren G. Harding chose Hoover to serve as secretary of commerce. In the Harding cabinet Hoover proved to be one of the few progressive voices in a Republican administration that generally saw little role for government other than assisting the growth of business. Hoover alienated many Old Guard Republican leaders as he vigorously supported U.S. membership in the League of Nations, collective bargaining rights for labour, and government regulation of such new industries as radio broadcasting and commercial aviation. ( See primary source document: Moral Standards in an Industrial Era.) Continuing as commerce secretary under President Calvin Coolidge, Hoover spearheaded efforts that ultimately led to construction of Hoover Dam and the St. Lawrence Seaway. He illustrated his continuing dedication to humanitarian rescue when he supervised relief efforts during and after the Mississippi flood of 1927.

When President Coolidge decided not to run for another term in 1928, Hoover received the Republican presidential nomination, despite the objections of conservatives opposed to his departure from the party's traditional laissez-faire philosophy. In the ensuing campaign Hoover ran against New York Governor Alfred E. Smith in a contest that focused on Prohibition and religion. Smith opposed Prohibition, while Hoover remained equivocal, calling it an "experiment noble in motive." Smith's Roman Catholicism proved a liability, especially in the South, but the election outcome chiefly reflected the close identification in the public mind of the Republican Party with the enormous prosperity of the 1920s. Hoover captured 21 million votes to Smith's 15 million, 444 electoral votes to his Democratic opponent's 87. ( See primary source document: Inaugural Address. See also Cabinet of President Herbert Hoover.)
Cabinet of President Herbert Hoover

State
Henry Lewis Stimson

Treasury

Andrew W. Mellon
Ogden Livingston Mills (from February 13, 1932)

War

James William Good
Patrick Jay Hurley (from December 9, 1929)

Navy
Charles Francis Adams

Attorney General

William De Witt Mitchell

Interior

Ray Lyman Wilbur

Agriculture

Arthur Mastick Hyde

Commerce

Robert Patterson Lamont
Roy Dikeman Chapin (from December 14, 1932)

Labor

James John Davis
William Nuckles Doak (from December 9, 1930)

During the 1928 presidential campaign, Hoover said, "We are nearer today to the ideal of the abolition of poverty and fear from the lives of men and women than ever before in any land." One year later the Stock Market Crash of 1929 plunged the country into the worst economic collapse in its history. President Hoover parted ways with those leaders of the Republican Party-including Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon-who believed there was nothing for the government to do but wait for the next phase of the business cycle. Hoover took prompt action. He called business leaders to the White House to urge them not to lay off workers or cut wages. He urged state and local governments to join private charities in caring for Americans made destitute by the Depression. He asked Congress to appropriate money for public-works projects to expand government employment. In 1931 he backed creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC, established 1932), a large-scale lending institution intended to help banks and industries and thereby promote a general recovery.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. cph.3c21855)

The nation's economy failed to respond to Hoover's initiatives. As the Depression worsened, banks and other businesses collapsed and poverty stalked the land, and the American people began to blame Hoover for the calamity. The homeless began calling their shantytowns "Hoovervilles." Demands rose for greater government action, especially direct relief payments to the most impoverished of the millions of unemployed. Believing that a dole would prove addictive, sapping the will of Americans to provide for themselves, Hoover adamantly opposed direct federal relief payments to individuals. He was also a firm believer in a balanced budget, unwilling to plunge the federal government into massive debt through a welfare program. This is not to say that Hoover opposed assistance to those in need. For example, expenditures for American Indian schools and health care doubled during his administration, and this earned him accolades as the first president to recognize some basic Indian rights. Hoover also furthered the long-held Quaker interest in prison reform, alleviating prison overcrowding by building new penitentiaries and work camps, expanding educational opportunities for prisoners, and increasing the number of prisoners placed on parole. He also supported RFC loans to states for relief purposes, though this modest program did little to alleviate suffering or to stimulate economic recovery. Also largely ineffective-but sincerely pursued-was Hoover's attempt to defuse international tensions by promoting disarmament negotiations at the London Naval Conference of 1930. Quaker pacifism undoubtedly spurred Hoover's interest in the arms race and international disarmament, but, like his relief schemes on the home front that could hardly suppress or contain the Depression, these efforts failed to reduce world tensions or to prevent Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

Washington State Archives/Digital Archives

Hoover also made some critical mistakes in his handling of the Depression. In 1930, for example, he signed into law (against the advice of many leading economists) the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised many import duties so high that foreign countries could not sell goods in the United States; as a result, those countries could not-or would not-purchase American goods at a time when the need for sales abroad had never been greater. More problems arose in 1932, when Hoover authorized General Douglas MacArthur to evict from Washington, D.C., the Bonus Army, a group of World War I veterans who had camped in the nation's capital to pressure Congress into awarding a promised bonus many years in advance of the scheduled payout date. MacArthur greatly exceeded Hoover's orders in using military force against the unemployed former soldiers. The result was a public relations nightmare for the president. Hoover's silence regarding MacArthur's excesses led the public to think that the president had been responsible for the brutality. The man who had enjoyed a worldwide reputation as a humanitarian now appeared heartless and cruel.

By the 1932 presidential campaign, Hoover was blaming the Depression on events abroad and predicting that election of his Democratic challenger, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, would only intensify the disaster. The electorate obviously thought differently, as Roosevelt captured nearly 23 million votes (and 472 electoral votes) to Hoover's slightly less than 16 million (59 electoral votes). During the months between the election and the inauguration, Hoover attempted unsuccessfully to gain Roosevelt's commitment to sustaining his policies. When he left the White House on March 4, 1933, Hoover was a defeated and embittered man.

American presidential election, 1932 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Hoover and his wife-the former Lou Henry ( Lou Hoover), also a Stanford-trained geologist-moved first to Palo Alto, California, and then to New York City, where they took up residence at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. For the next 30 years, Hoover was closely identified with the most conservative elements in the Republican Party, condemning what he regarded as the radicalism of the New Deal and opposing Roosevelt's attempts to take a more active role against German and Japanese aggression. He believed fascism lay at the root of government programs like the New Deal and argued so in The Challenge to Liberty (1934) and the eight-volume Addresses upon the American Road (1936-61), as well as in the speeches Against the Proposed New Deal (1932, see original text) and The New Deal and European Collectivism (1936, see original text). An ardent anticommunist and foe of international crusades, he opposed American entry into World War II (until the attack on Pearl Harbor) and denounced American involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars. His last major activity was heading the Hoover Commission, under Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, which aimed at streamlining the federal bureaucracy. The research-oriented Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University-founded in 1919 as the Hoover War Collection, a library on World War I-is named in his honour.

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Herbert Hoover | president of United States

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Herbert Hoover, in full Herbert Clark Hoover, (born August 10, 1874, West Branch, Iowa, U.S.-died October 20, 1964, New York, New York), 31st president of the United States (1929-33).

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Born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York–now a national historic site–he attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School.
he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed the organization of the Nation’s manpower and resources for global war.
between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled.

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Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York-now a national historic site-he attended Harvard University and Columbia Law School. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt.

Following the example of his fifth cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered public service through politics, but as a Democrat. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910. President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920.

In the summer of 1921, when he was 39, disaster hit-he was stricken with poliomyelitis. Demonstrating indomitable courage, he fought to regain the use of his legs, particularly through swimming. At the 1924 Democratic Convention he dramatically appeared on crutches to nominate Alfred E. Smith as "the Happy Warrior." In 1928 Roosevelt became Governor of New York.

He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms. By March there were 13,000,000 unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. In his first "hundred days," he proposed, and Congress enacted, a sweeping program to bring recovery to business and agriculture, relief to the unemployed and to those in danger of losing farms and homes, and reform, especially through the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

By 1935 the Nation had achieved some measure of recovery, but businessmen and bankers were turning more and more against Roosevelt's New Deal program. They feared his experiments, were appalled because he had taken the Nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget, and disliked the concessions to labor. Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed.

In 1936 he was re-elected by a top-heavy margin. Feeling he was armed with a popular mandate, he sought legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court, which had been invalidating key New Deal measures. Roosevelt lost the Supreme Court battle, but a revolution in constitutional law took place. Thereafter the Government could legally regulate the economy.

Roosevelt had pledged the United States to the "good neighbor" policy, transforming the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral American manifesto into arrangements for mutual action against aggressors. He also sought through neutrality legislation to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, yet at the same time to strengthen nations threatened or attacked. When France fell and England came under siege in 1940, he began to send Great Britain all possible aid short of actual military involvement.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed organization of the Nation's manpower and resources for global war.

Feeling that the future peace of the world would depend upon relations between the United States and Russia, he devoted much thought to the planning of a United Nations, in which, he hoped, international difficulties could be settled.

As the war drew to a close, Roosevelt's health deteriorated, and on April 12, 1945, while at Warm Springs, Georgia, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

For more information about President Roosevelt, please visit Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

Learn more about Franklin D. Roosevelt's spouse, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

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Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression as our 32nd President (1933-1945), Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves.

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When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Roosevelt directed the organization of the Nation’s manpower and resources for global war.
Black Tuesday was an American illustration.
August 1929 after a period of wild speculation in the Roaring Twenties.

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Stock Market Crash: 1929 & Black Tuesday | HISTORY

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The Stock Market Crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression, as some 16 million shares were traded on Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929, wiping out many investors.

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Depression of 1929 • Slump of 1929
Date | 1929 - c. 1939
the depression touched nearly every county and it was sad for everyone because some didnt have any jobs or others lost their homes.
In the United States, where the Depression was generally worst, industrial production between 1929 and 1933 fell by nearly 47 percent, gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 30 percent, and unemployment reached more than 20 percent.

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The worldwide economic downturn known as the Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It caused steep declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation and led to extreme human suffering and profound changes in economic policy. The Depression touched nearly every country of the world after first arising in the United States, where its social and cultural effects were especially profound.

Facts

Top Questions

What was the Great Depression?

The Great Depression, which began in the United States in 1929 and spread worldwide, was the longest and most severe economic downturn in modern history. It was marked by steep declines in industrial production and in prices (deflation), mass unemployment, banking panics, and sharp increases in rates of poverty and homelessness.

What were the causes of the Great Depression?

Four factors played roles of varying importance. (1) The stock market crash of 1929 shattered confidence in the American economy, resulting in sharp reductions in spending and investment. (2) Banking panics in the early 1930s caused many banks to fail, decreasing the pool of money available for loans. (3) The gold standard required foreign central banks to raise interest rates to counteract trade imbalances with the United States, depressing spending and investment in those countries. (4) The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) imposed steep tariffs on many industrial and agricultural goods, inviting retaliatory measures that ultimately reduced output and caused global trade to contract.

How did the Great Depression affect the American economy?

In the United States, where the Depression was generally worst, industrial production between 1929 and 1933 fell by nearly 47 percent, gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 30 percent, and unemployment reached more than 20 percent. Because of banking panics, 20 percent of banks in existence in 1930 had failed by 1933.

How did the United States and other countries recover from the Great Depression?

Three factors played roles of varying importance. (1) Abandonment of the gold standard and currency devaluation enabled some countries to increase their money supplies, which spurred spending, lending, and investment. (2) Fiscal expansion in the form of increased government spending on jobs and other social welfare programs, notably the New Deal in the United States, arguably stimulated production by increasing aggregate demand. (3) In the United States, greatly increased military spending in the years before the country's entry into World War II helped to reduce unemployment to below its pre-Depression level by 1942, again increasing aggregate demand.

When did the Great Depression end?

In most affected countries, the Great Depression was technically over by 1933, meaning that by then their economies had started to recover. Most did not experience full recovery until the late 1930s or early 1940s, however. The United States is generally thought to have fully recovered from the Great Depression by about 1939.

Did You Know?

About 15 million Americans were jobless and almost half the United States' banks had failed by 1933.

Even those in the United States who kept their jobs watched their incomes shrink by a third.

Americans did not imagine that The Great Depression would happen after the market crashed since 90% of American households owned no stocks in 1929.

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Causes and Effects

Banking panics and bank failures in the U.S. and elsewhere in 1930-33

A monumental decline in spending that generated a decline in production

Decision-making by the U.S. Federal Reserve that caused declines in the money supply

Excessive stock-market speculation in the U.S. that resulted in the Great Crash of 1929

Maintenance of the international gold standard

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and other protectionist trade policies

Development of Keynesian economics

End of the international gold standard by the late 1930s

Expanded influence of labour unions and organized labour through legislation such as the Wagner Act in the U.S.

Implementation of the New Deal in the U.S. and welfare-state policies internationally

Increased government oversight of financial markets by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other new regulatory agencies

Precipitous decline in standards of living around the world

Up to 25% unemployment in industrialized countries in the early 1930s

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The worldwide economic downturn known as the Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It caused steep declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation and led to extreme human suffering and profound changes in economic policy.

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On May 11, 1934, a massive dust storm two miles high traveled 2,000 miles
the dust bowl was one of the worst things that happen to everyone since the wind was high it went up to 5mph and people couldnt go outside. people even had to send there family members letters to let them know about the dust bowl and how bad it was.

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What Caused the Dust Bowl?

The Dust Bowl was caused by several economic and agricultural factors, including federal land policies, changes in regional weather, farm economics and other cultural factors. After the Civil War, a series of federal land acts coaxed pioneers westward by incentivizing farming in the Great Plains.

The Homestead Act of 1862, which provided settlers with 160 acres of public land, was followed by the Kinkaid Act of 1904 and the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909. These acts led to a massive influx of new and inexperienced farmers across the Great Plains.

Many of these late 19th and early 20th-century settlers lived by the superstition "rain follows the plow." Emigrants, land speculators, politicians and even some scientists believed that homesteading and agriculture would permanently affect the climate of the semi-arid Great Plains region, making it more conducive to farming.

Manifest Destiny

This false belief was linked to Manifest Destiny -an attitude that Americans had a sacred duty to expand west. A series of wet years during the period created a further misunderstanding of the region's ecology and led to the intensive cultivation of increasingly marginal lands that couldn't be reached by irrigation.

Rising wheat prices in the 1910s and 1920s and increased demand for wheat from Europe during World War I encouraged farmers to plow up millions of acres of native grassland to plant wheat, corn and other row crops. But as the United States entered the Great Depression, wheat prices plummeted. In desperation, farmers tore up even more grassland in an attempt to harvest a bumper crop and break even.

Crops began to fail with the onset of drought in 1931, exposing the bare, over-plowed farmland. Without deep-rooted prairie grasses to hold the soil in place, it began to blow away. Eroding soil led to massive dust storms and economic devastation-especially in the Southern Plains.

When Was the Dust Bowl?

The Dust Bowl, also known as "the Dirty Thirties," started in 1930 and lasted for about a decade, but its long-term economic impacts on the region lingered much longer.

Severe drought hit the Midwest and southern Great Plains in 1930. Massive dust storms began in 1931. A series of drought years followed, further exacerbating the environmental disaster.

By 1934, an estimated 35 million acres of formerly cultivated land had been rendered useless for farming, while another 125 million acres-an area roughly three-quarters the size of Texas-was rapidly losing its topsoil.

Regular rainfall returned to the region by the end of 1939, bringing the Dust Bowl years to a close. The economic effects, however, persisted. Population declines in the worst-hit counties-where the agricultural value of the land failed to recover-continued well into the 1950s.

'Black Blizzards' Strike America

During the Dust Bowl period, severe dust storms, often called "black blizzards," swept the Great Plains. Some of these carried topsoil from Texas and Oklahoma as far east as Washington, D.C. and New York City, and coated ships in the Atlantic Ocean with dust.

Billowing clouds of dust would darken the sky, sometimes for days at a time. In many places, the dust drifted like snow and residents had to clear it with shovels. Dust worked its way through the cracks of even well-sealed homes, leaving a coating on food, skin and furniture.

Some people developed "dust pneumonia" and experienced chest pain and difficulty breathing. It's unclear exactly how many people may have died from the condition. Estimates range from hundreds to several thousand people.

On May 11, 1934, a massive dust storm two miles high traveled 2,000 miles to the East Coast, blotting out monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. Capitol.

The worst dust storm occurred on April 14, 1935. News reports called the event Black Sunday. A wall of blowing sand and dust started in the Oklahoma Panhandle and spread east. As many as three million tons of topsoil are estimated to have blown off the Great Plains during Black Sunday.

An Associated Press news report coined the term "Dust Bowl" after the Black Sunday dust storm.

New Deal Programs

President Franklin D. Roosevelt established a number of measures to help alleviate the plight of poor and displaced farmers. He also addressed the environmental degradation that had led to the Dust Bowl in the first place.

As part of Roosevelt's New Deal, Congress established the Soil Erosion Service and the Prairie States Forestry Project in 1935. These programs put local farmers to work planting trees as windbreaks on farms across the Great Plains. The Soil Erosion Service, now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) developed and promoted new farming techniques to combat the problem of soil erosion.

Okie Migration

Roughly 2.5 million people left the Dust Bowl states- Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma-during the 1930s. It was one of the largest migrations in American history.

Oklahoma alone lost 440,000 people to migration. Many of them, poverty-stricken, traveled west looking for work. From 1935 to 1940, roughly 250,000 Oklahoma migrants moved to California. A third settled in the state's agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley.

These Dust Bowl refugees were called "Okies." Okies faced discrimination, menial labor and pitiable wages upon reaching California. Many of them lived in shantytowns and tents along irrigation ditches. "Okie" soon became a term of disdain used to refer to any poor Dust Bowl migrant, regardless of their state of origin.

Dust Bowl in Arts and Culture

The Dust Bowl, and the suffering endured by those who survived it, captured the hearts and imaginations of the nation's artists, musicians and writers.

John Steinbeck memorialized the plight of the Okies in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. Photographer Dorothea Lange documented rural poverty with a series of photographs for FDR's Farm Securities Administration, and artist Alexandre Hogue achieved renown with his Dust Bowl landscapes.

Folk musician Woody Guthrie, and his semi-autobiographical first album Dust Bowl Ballads of 1940, told stories of economic hardship faced by Okies in California. Guthrie, an Oklahoma native, left his home state with thousands of others looking for work during the Dust Bowl.

Sources

FDR and the New Deal Response to an Environmental Catastrophe. Roosevelt Institute.
About The Dust Bowl. English Department; University of Illinois.
Dust Bowl Migration. University of California at Davis.
The Great Okie Migration. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Okie Migrations. Oklahoma Historical Society.
What we learned from the Dust Bowl: lessons in science, policy, and adaptation. Population and Environment.
The Dust Bowl. Library of Congress.
Dust Bowl Ballads: Woody Guthrie. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
The Dust Bowl. Ken Burns; PBS.

Fact Check

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Dust Bowl: Causes, Definition & Years - HISTORY

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The Dust Bowl refers to the drought-stricken southern plains of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

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July 2, 1932. Reacting to the ineffectiveness of the administration of Pres. Herbert Hoover in meeting the ravages of the Great Depression. this was somthing new for people since there was a lot of new opportunities that they gave people. about 8.5 million jobs where available for people all thanks to the new deal that happen

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Table of Contents

What was the purpose of the New Deal?

What were the New Deal programs and what did they do?

What were the most important results of the New Deal?

What New Deal programs remain in effect?

New Deal, domestic program of the administration of U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) between 1933 and 1939, which took action to bring about immediate economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labour, and housing, vastly increasing the scope of the federal government's activities. The term was taken from Roosevelt's speech accepting the Democratic nomination for the presidency on July 2, 1932. Reacting to the ineffectiveness of the administration of Pres. Herbert Hoover in meeting the ravages of the Great Depression, American voters the following November overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Democratic promise of a "new deal" for the "forgotten man." Opposed to the traditional American political philosophy of laissez-faire, the New Deal generally embraced the concept of a government-regulated economy aimed at achieving a balance between conflicting economic interests.

The Hundred Days

Much of the New Deal legislation was enacted within the first three months of Roosevelt's presidency (March 9-June 16, 1933), which became known as the Hundred Days. The new administration's first objective was to alleviate the suffering of the nation's huge number of unemployed workers. Such agencies as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were established to dispense emergency and short-term governmental aid and to provide temporary jobs, employment on construction projects, and youth work in the national forests. The WPA gave some 8.5 million people jobs. Its construction projects produced more than 650,000 miles of roads, 125,000 public buildings, 75,000 bridges, and 8,000 parks. Also under its aegis were the Federal Art Project, Federal Writers' Project, and Federal Theatre Project. The CCC provided national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, fighting forest fires, and maintaining forest roads and trails.

Before 1935 the New Deal focused on revitalizing the country's stricken business and agricultural communities. To revive industrial activity, the National Recovery Administration (NRA) was granted authority to help shape industrial codes governing trade practices, wages, hours, child labour, and collective bargaining. The New Deal also tried to regulate the nation's financial hierarchy in order to avoid a repetition of the stock market crash of 1929 and the massive bank failures that followed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) granted government insurance for bank deposits in member banks of the Federal Reserve System, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established in 1934 to restore investor confidence in the stock market by ending the misleading sales practices and stock manipulations that had led to the stock market crash. The farm program, known as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, was signed in May 1933. It was centred in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), which attempted to raise prices by controlling the production of staple crops through cash subsidies to farmers. In addition, the arm of the federal government reached into the area of electric power, establishing in 1933 the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which was to cover a seven-state area and supply cheap electricity, prevent floods, improve navigation, and produce nitrates.

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New Deal | Definition, History, Programs, Summary, & Facts

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New Deal, domestic program of the administration of U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) between 1933 and 1939, which took action to bring about immediate economic relief as well as reforms in industry, agriculture, finance, waterpower, labour, and housing, vastly increasing the scope of the federal government's activities.

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(1933–42), one of the earliest New Deal programs, established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression
Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The CCC or C’s as it was sometimes known, allowed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks.

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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), one of U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's earliest New Deal programs, established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression by providing national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, fighting forest fires, and maintaining forest roads and trails. Throughout its existence (1933-42), the CCC remained one of the most popular of the New Deal's "alphabet agencies." At its largest, the program employed 500,000 men, and it provided work for a total of more than 3,000,000 during its nine-year history.

When the Civilian Conservation Corps was established on May 31, 1933, it began an experiment in social welfare programming that was groundbreaking. It was also a revolutionary policy on the part of the U.S. government to save its forest lands and to restore the agricultural topsoil lost in the Dust Bowl. The CCC's main purpose was to provide gainful employment to the country's large body of idle young men who had been unable to secure jobs in the Depression years. None of the projects initiated under the CCC was "made" work, however, and this leads to the CCC's second purpose-to conserve and protect the vast natural resources of the United States. Although U.S. Rep. Oscar DePriest of Illinois had introduced an amendment to the legislation that created the CCC that forbade racial discrimination, segregation was widely practiced within the program. African American and Native American men who participated in the CCC were largely confined to separate camps.

In the first few months of the CCC's existence, work was mostly hand labor with a pick and shovel. Almost immediately, it became apparent that to replant cut-over forests, control soil erosion, anchor whole watersheds, and fight forest fires and floods in previously inaccessible areas, heavy equipment would be needed. Eventually, 40,000 vehicles, including trucks, tractors, bulldozers, and power shovels, became tools of the corps.

Recruits lived in remote work camps under a semi-military regime. Monthly cash allowances of $30 were supplemented by food, medical care, and other necessities. Workers themselves kept only $5 of their monthly pay; the remaining $25 was sent directly to their families. In most states, the $25 stipend was deducted from the family's benefit payments if they were on any kind of public relief. The CCC's low wages initially provoked resistance from labor unions; it was feared that employers might respond by reducing pay among the active workforce. Roosevelt responded to these concerns by appointing Robert Fechner of the International Association of Machinists as CCC director.

The work of CCC workers was significant and long-lasting. They planted more than 2.3 billion trees, constructed 126,000 miles (more than 200,000 km) of roads and trails, and laid 100,000 miles (161,000 km) of telephone lines through national forests. They expended some 6,500,000 person-days fighting forest fires and similar time conducting fire prevention operations on forest lands. They built 6,660,000 small check dams to control soil erosion, 45,000 bridges and buildings, and more than 7,000 large diversion dams. They built hundreds of state parks with cabins, artificial lakes, and water supply systems, and much of the infrastructure in the U.S. National Park System was created using CCC labor. CCC workers built water tanks for cattle on the Western plains and constructed fire lookout towers in forests.

The start of World War II in 1939 saw a portion of the CCC's efforts redirected to defense projects. Across the country, CCC workers were tasked with building or expanding army, navy, and marine facilities. Operations included land clearance; logging and lumbering; construction of roads, airfields, target ranges, and telephone lines; and mosquito abatement. Increased demand for labor from defense industries set off waves of turnover within the CCC, as young men left the program for higher-paying factory jobs. Those who remained with the CCC were eligible for leadership, industrial safety, and vocational courses that further improved their outside employment prospects.

With the U.S. entry into World War II in December 1941, the needs of the armed forces spelled the end of the program. On June 30, 1942, the CCC ceased operations and began to dispose of its assets. The U.S. Congress had appropriated more than $3 billion to the CCC during its nine years of operation, of which more than $200 million was returned to the Treasury. Of the CCC's total expenses, some $663 million was sent to dependents of enrollees. A careful inventory of the CCC's accomplishments showed that in a material way alone, the return received by the federal government and the states was much in excess of the dollar cost of the program's operation, to say nothing of the benefits received by the workers in education, training, and character building.

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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) | History, Projects, & Facts

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Civilian Conservation Corps (1933-42), one of the earliest New Deal programs, established to relieve unemployment during the Great Depression by providing national conservation work primarily for young unmarried men. Projects included planting trees, building flood barriers, and fighting forest fires.

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Elected in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a reassuring presence for many Americans through the trials of the Great Depression. Roosevelt's speech and writing and advisers.
Roosevelt sat down next to the desk in the white house for a speech.

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Elected in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a reassuring presence for many Americans through the trials of the Great Depression.

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january 26 2018
social securituy is something that is very important for people and you can not loose it. its something that helps you qualify for jobs and its also something that not everyone has.you get your ss when you are born.

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Early Social Assistance in America

Economic security has always been a major issue in an unstable, unequal world with an aging population. Societies throughout history have tackled the issue in various ways, but the disadvantaged relied mostly on charity from the wealthy or from family and friends.

In the early 17th century, England established "poor laws," acknowledging the government's responsibility to care for its less-fortunate citizens.

The Pilgrims brought these laws with them to the New World. Eventually, colonial governments created new laws to care for the poor and destitute, deeming which citizens were worthy or unworthy of different types of assistance. Poorhouses or outdoor relief (where people were given monetary or other assistance to keep them out of a poorhouse) were common means of public assistance.

By the mid-19th century, conditions in poorhouses were often deplorable. Yet thanks to deteriorating economic conditions they were also packed to the rafters, and local governments struggled to keep up with the overwhelming need.

Early Forms of Social Security

A large segment of American citizens received an early form of social security decades before President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935.

Starting in 1862, hundreds of thousands of veterans disabled in the Civil War and their widows and orphans could apply for a government pension for veterans. In 1890, the law was amended to include any disabled Civil War veteran, regardless of how the disability occurred. In 1906, the law was amended again to include old age as a criterion.

Company pension plans came on the scene in 1882 when the Alfred Dolge Company created a pension fund for its employees. A handful of companies followed suit, but few employees received even a nickel. Most of the companies went out of business before the pensions could be distributed, or the pensions were never dispersed.

Industrial Revolution in America

According to the Social Security Administration, four changes beginning in the late 19th century helped abolish the economic security policies of the time: the Industrial Revolution, America's urbanization, the vanishing extended family and a longer life expectancy.

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, many people were farmers and managed to support themselves during hard times, and extended family often lived together on family farms and cared for one another as they aged or struggled.

The Industrial Revolution, however, enticed people to flock to cities for jobs that were often threatened by layoffs and recession, leaving many without a way to support themselves if they lost their job. The urbanization of American also found many people leaving their extended family behind to fend for themselves.

As sanitary and general conditions in America improved, the life expectancy of its citizens did, too. When more and more people grew older, many were unable to work or became sick and required care.

Impact of The Great Depression

The Great Depression left millions of people unemployed and struggling to put food on the table. It struck the elderly especially hard and many states passed legislation to protect their elder citizens.

But most elder-assistance programs of the time were a dismal failure. They were underfunded, poorly run and, in some cases, flat out ignored by officials. Those seniors who received assistance only got about 65 cents a day.

As the depression raged on, government officials and frustrated private citizens alike moved to find ways to help struggling Americans and introduced plans to increase economic security. Most ideas were basically federal or state financed pension plans. Some included all citizens while others included only the elderly.

None of the plans became law; however, many had huge followings and initiated spirited dialogue about how to care for the disadvantaged and the elderly.

Roosevelt's Radical Idea: Social Security

Until Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, most social assistance plans in America were dependent on the government, charities and private citizens doling out money to people in need.

Roosevelt, however, borrowed a page from Europe's economic security rulebook and took a different approach. He proposed a program in which people contributed to their own future economic security by contributing a portion of their work income through payroll tax deductions.

Basically, the current working generation would pay into the program and finance the retired generation's monthly allowance.

Social Security Benefits

In June 1934, President Roosevelt created the Committee on Economic Security (CES) and tasked them with creating an economic security bill. Led by the first woman to hold a U.S. cabinet post, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the CES drafted the Social Security Act aimed at giving people economic security throughout their lives.

The bill included:

an old-age pension program

unemployment insurance funded by employers

health insurance for people in financial distress

financial assistance for widows with children

financial assistance for disabled individuals

After much debate, Congress passed the Social Security Act to provide benefits to retirees based on their earnings history and on August 14, 1935, Roosevelt signed it into law. This firmly placed the burden of economic security for American citizens on the federal government's shoulders.

Social Security Cards

After signing the Social Security Act, President Roosevelt established a three-person board to administer the program with the goal of starting payroll tax deductions for enrollees by January 1, 1937. It was a daunting task, but by November 1936 registration for the program began.

Not everyone could participate, though. Self-employed professionals, field hands and domestic workers were excluded.

To become eligible, workers completed an application at their local post office and received a national identity card with a unique, nine-digit identification number. Within eight days of rolling out the program, over one million workers had Social Security numbers.

Four months later, almost 26 million had enrolled despite most projected payouts being below poverty level. The Social Security card was-and still is-used to track workers earnings and benefits.

Social Security Act Amendments

Many amendments have been passed to the original Social Security Act. For instance, originally, monthly payouts of old-age benefits were slated to start on January 1, 1942. Eligible people who turned 65 prior to that date received a lump sum payment.

On August 10, 1939, an amendment passed to move up the start date to receive monthly benefits to January 1, 1940. Another amendment extended eligibility to dependents and survivors of retired workers.

In the 1950s, amendments were made which extended Social Security eligibility to domestic and farm workers, non-farm self-employed professionals and some federal employees. It also offered voluntary coverage to some state and federal employees, hundreds of thousands of nonprofit employees and workers in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

In addition, benefits were increased for millions of beneficiaries and a new contribution schedule established.

Medicare: Medical Insurance For Social Security Recipients

In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved legislation to allow Social Security benefits for disabled workers and their dependents.

The Social Security Amendments of 1965 provided medical insurance to Social Security beneficiaries age 65 and older. This new "Medicare" program also offered people 65 and older the chance to purchase supplemental medical insurance.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation to provide an automatic cost of living allowance each year to offset the cost of inflation. Prior to the new law, annual increases required Congressional approval.

Efforts to Keep Social Security Solvent

By 1977, it was clear Social Security was in financial peril. An amendment was passed changing the benefit qualification formula for people born after 1917. Other amendments were also passed including increasing the payroll tax and slightly decreasing benefits to help cut costs, leaving some beneficiaries with less money during difficult economic times.

These efforts didn't prevent the program from facing a serious financial crisis in the 1980s, however, and President Ronald Reagan created a commission to examine how to keep Social Security in the black. In 1983, he signed legislation that gradually increased the retirement age to 67, taxed Social Security benefits and provided Social Security benefits to federal workers.

After taking office in 2001, President George W. Bush appointed another Social Security Commission with its top priority being Social Security reform. No revolutionary changes were made to keep the program solvent long-term. Still, the Bush administration extended disability benefits and food stamps to qualified immigrants and their children, eliminated wage credits for the military and expanded Medicare prescription drug coverage.

President Obama 's administration temporarily reduced the Social Security tax rate from 6.2 to 4.2 percent in 2011 and 2012. The move helped ease financial strain on American workers but did little to stop the risk of Social Security going into future debt.

The Future of Social Security

The Social Security Act has provided Americans with much-needed financial help when they need it most. For many of America's most vulnerable, it's the only source of income they have.

Still, despite attempts to keep it solvent, the Social Security program faces a major long-term shortfall. The retirement age to receive full benefits continues to increase and many beneficiaries are claiming benefits much later in life to receive maximum payouts, often at age 70.

As partisan politicians continue to debate the problem each year, the Social Security Administration-which is now an independent government agency-works behind the scenes to keep Social Security intact. Administering the program is a monumental and always-changing task.

Each year, the Social Security Administration rolls out changes to the program. In 2018, they announced a two percent cost-of-living adjustment, a taxable earnings increase, an earnings limit increase for beneficiaries who still work and a slight increase in disability payments.

Despite the program's pitfalls, most Americans want Social Security to continue and consider it a retirement lifeline, according to a National Academy of Social Insurance survey. And eighty-one percent of them are willing to pay more taxes to ensure it. Whether politicians are listening and can come up with a viable solution remains to be seen.

Sources

5 Facts About Social Security. Pew Research Center.
5 Social Security Changes to Expect in 2018. Investopedia.
Administering Social Security: Challenges Yesterday and Today. Social Security Office of Retirement and Disability.
Frances Perkins: The Force Behind Social Security. Roosevelt Institute.
Historical Background and Development of Social Security. Social Security Administration.
How FDR Created Social Security. AARP.
Key Dates in the History of Social Security. National Academy of Social Insurance.
Poor Relief in Early America. VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project.
Social Security Turns 80: Past, Present and Future. National Academy of Social Insurance.

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Economic security has always been a major issue in an unstable, unequal world with an aging population. Societies throughout history have tackled the issue in various ways, but the disadvantaged relied mostly on charity from the wealthy or from family and friends.

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The national cancer institute is establish

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The national cancer institute is establish

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August 5, 1937—The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established through the National Cancer Act of 1937, signed into law by President Franklin D. the cancer control program was one of the top ones and it was establish in 1946

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Mission

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. Established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of 11 agencies that make up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

NCI's mission is to lead, conduct, and support cancer research across the nation to advance scientific knowledge and help all people live longer, healthier lives.

As the leader of the cancer research enterprise, collectively known as the National Cancer Program, and the largest funder of cancer research in the world, NCI manages a broad range of research, training, and information dissemination activities that reach across the entire country, meeting the needs of all demographics-rich and poor, urban and rural, and all racial/ethnic populations. Specifically, NCI focuses on two broad roles:
Cancer Research

Leads the nation's research efforts to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and survivorship

Supports 72 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and more than 5,000 grantees

Coordinates and supports all phases of clinical trials across 2,500 clinical trial sites nationwide, seeking the development of new and improved cancer treatments

Supports intramural research scientists in our own laboratories and clinics

Partners with industry, private philanthropic organizations, other federal agencies, and other national and foreign institutions to engage in cancer research and training opportunities that otherwise might not be possible because of their complexity and cost

Collaborates with private-sector life sciences companies to advance promising innovative technologies that fuel improvements in detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer

Supports the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, the only federally funded research and development center dedicated exclusively to biomedical research

Maintains long-term storage of publicly available cancer genomic and clinical data

Supports construction of laboratories, clinics, and related facilities for cancer research

Training and Support for Cancer Researchers

Strives to attract, train, and retain the best minds to become the next generation of cancer researchers

Provides support to scientists and their institutions to create outstanding environments for researchers to train, conduct basic and clinical research, and care for cancer patients

Funds training and career development opportunities across a broad spectrum of cancer research disciplines through training grants, fellowships, research career development awards, and research education grants

Supports targeted cancer research training for individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences to achieve and sustain a diverse workforce

Provides comprehensive training programs that support the needs of qualified individuals at all stages of their career development, ranging from middle-school students to independent researchers

Offers training opportunities centered in hospitals and research institutions across the nation, in addition to intramural training programs offered at NCI laboratories and offices in Maryland

As a federal agency, NCI receives its funds from Congress. The bulk of our budget supports extramural grants and cooperative agreements to facilitate research conducted at universities, medical schools, hospitals, cancer centers, research laboratories, and private firms in the United States and abroad. These funds also support intramural research at NCI's laboratories and offices in Bethesda, Rockville, and Frederick, MD.

Our investments have led to declines in the rates of new cancer cases and cancer deaths overall in the last few decades in the United States. In line with this improvement, the number of cancer survivors in the United States has more than doubled from 7 million in 1992 to more than 15 million in 2016-and is expected to rise to more than 26 million by 2040. These trends reflect advances in cancer detection, diagnosis, and patient care that have resulted in people living longer, healthier lives than ever before.

For additional information about NCI and recent cancer research findings, visit the NCI web site.

Important Events in NCI History

August 5, 1937 -The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was established through the National Cancer Act of 1937, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its passage represented the culmination of nearly three decades of efforts to formalize the U.S. government's place in cancer research. The act represents the first time that Congress provided funding to address a non-communicable disease. The act created NCI as an independent research institute within the Public Health Service. NCI became the federal government's principal agency for conducting research and training on the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

NCI was tasked with assisting and promoting cancer research at other public and private institutions, particularly by providing funding opportunities to support promising cancer research. The act established the National Advisory Cancer Council, now known as the National Cancer Advisory Board, which recommended approval of first award for fellowships in cancer research shortly thereafter.

August 1940-The first issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute was published.

July 1, 1946 -The cancer control program was established, providing grants to the states for support of cancer control activities.

July 2, 1953 -NCI inaugurated a full-scale clinical research program in the new Clinical Center.

1955 -NCI established the Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program which included several research networks, called cooperative groups, that conduct cancer clinical research primarily under the sponsorship of NCI.

1957 -The first malignancy (choriocarcinoma) was cured with chemotherapy at NCI.

January 12, 1961 -The Laboratory of Viral Oncology was established to investigate the relationship of viruses to human cancer.

April 2, 1962 -An exhibit, "Man Against Cancer," opened in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the Institute's 25th anniversary and inaugurate Cancer Progress Year.

October 25, 1962 -The Human Cancer Virus Task Force held its first meeting. The task force, comprised of scientists from NCI and other institutions, stimulated the development of special programs in viral oncology.

February 13, 1967 -NCI, in collaboration with the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital, established the Baltimore Cancer Research Center to conduct basic and clinical research for cancer treatment and offer training to medical students and scientists.

October 18, 1971 -President Nixon converted the Army's former biological warfare facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland, to house research activities on the causes, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

December 23, 1971 -President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of 1971. The act represented the U.S. commitment to what President Nixon described as the "war on cancer," which, by 1970, had become the nation's second leading cause of death. The act granted authority to the Director of NCI to plan and develop a National Cancer Program that included NCI, other research institutes, and other federal and non-federal programs. It established the procedure for submitting NCI's annual budget, called the "bypass budget," which is transmitted directly from the NCI director to the President and Congress. The act also required the creation of a new National Cancer Advisory Board, a presidentially appointed committee of 18 members, to assist NCI in developing its programs. It also established the President's Cancer Panel, a three-member panel that submits an annual report to the President and holds periodic public hearings. Finally, the act provided additional funding for NCI to establish 15 new cancer research centers, local cancer control programs, and an international cancer research data bank.

July 27, 1972 -A Bureau-level organization was established for NCI, giving the Institute and its components organizational status commensurate with the responsibilities bestowed on it by the National Cancer Act of 1971.

June 20, 1973 -NCI director Dr. Frank J. Rauscher, Jr., announced that eight institutions were recognized as Comprehensive Cancer Centers to bring results of research as rapidly as possible to a maximum number of people. (In 2017, there are 69 NCI designated cancer centers.)

September 12, 1974 -NCI made its first cancer control awards to state health departments for a three-year program to screen low-income women for cancer of the uterine cervix. At its peak in 1978, the program had grown to a total of 32 states and territories.

December 17, 1974 -NCI and the National Library of Medicine established CANCERLINE, a jointly developed computerized service to provide scientists across the country with information on cancer research projects and published findings.

December 19, 1974 -The Clinical Cancer Education Program was announced to develop more innovative teaching methods in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation in schools of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, and public health; affiliated teaching hospitals; and specialized cancer institutions.

1975 -The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research was established as the Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center in 1972 when about 70 acres and 67 buildings of the U.S. Army were transferred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since then, Frederick National Lab has become an internationally recognized center of scientific excellence in cancer and AIDS research and development.

Shortly thereafter, The National Science Foundation notified HHS that NCI-Frederick met the criteria for and was designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), a government-owned, contractor-operated facility designed to achieve long-term research and development needs that could not be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources.

1975 -The Cooperative Minority Biomedical Program, as approved by the National Cancer Advisory Board, represented a co-funding effort by NCI to implement and foster cancer research through NIH's Division of Research Resources' Minority Biomedical Research Support Program and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Minority Access to Research Careers Program.

July 1, 1975 -The Cancer Information Service was established following a mandate of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which gave NCI new responsibilities for educating the public, patients, and health professionals.

August 5, 1977 -NCI celebrated its 40th anniversary with a ceremony on the NIH campus. Senator Warren G. Magnuson of Washington who, as a member of the House of Representatives, introduced a bill to establish NCI in 1937, sent a message stating: "Those one and a half million Americans who are alive today-cured of cancer-are ample justification for all that we've appropriated over the last 40 years."

1979 -The first human RNA virus (HTLV-I) was discovered by NCI's Dr. Robert C. Gallo, leading to his role in the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and in the development of the HIV blood test. He has been a major contributor to subsequent HIV research.

July 18, 1979 -NCI and the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., signed an agreement to cooperate in a cancer treatment research program.

April 27, 1981 -A new Biological Response Modifiers Program was established in the Division of Cancer Treatment to investigate, develop and bring to clinical trial potential therapeutic agents that may alter biological responses that are important in cancer growth and metastasis.

September 1982 -PDQ (or Physician Data Query), a computerized database on cancer treatment information, became available nationwide through the National Library of Medicine's MEDLARS system.

December 16, 1982-NCI purchased a building adjacent to the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, through generous donations to the NCI Gift Fund. This building housed the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the Scientific Information Branch (which publishes Cancer Treatment Reports and Cancer Treatment Symposia), the International Cancer Research Data Bank, and PDQ (Physician Data Query, NCI's comprehensive source of cancer information).

July 16, 1983 -NCI launched the Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) to establish a cancer control effort that combines the expertise of community oncologists with NCI clinical research programs. The CCOP initiative is designed to bring the advantages of clinical research to cancer patients in their own communities.

1984 -A policy statement regarding the relationship of NCI, the pharmaceutical industry, and NCI-supported cooperative groups was developed. The statement conveys the need for collaboration between NCI and the pharmaceutical industry in pursuing the joint development of anticancer drugs of mutual interest.

March 6, 1984 -HHS Secretary Margaret M. Heckler launched a new Cancer Prevention Awareness Program aimed at saving 95,000 lives per year by the year 2000. The program, guided by NCI, will inform the public about cancer risks and steps individuals can take to reduce risk.

April 1984 -NCI scientist Dr. Robert C. Gallo reported the isolation of a new group of viruses found in the helper T-cells of patients with AIDS or pre-AIDS symptoms, as well as from healthy individuals at high risk for developing AIDS. These viruses were ultimately named human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. This discovery made the control of blood-product-transmitted AIDS feasible by enabling the development of a simple test for the detection of AIDS-infected blood by blood banks and diagnostic laboratories.

August 1985 - The Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP), one of the first formal postdoctoral research training programs in cancer prevention, began. CPFP provides state-of-the-art training in cancer prevention and control through mentored research at NCI, guiding each fellow to develop an independent research program in cancer prevention.

October 24, 1987 -The Office of Technology Development was established in the Office of the Director to guide implementation of legislation, rules and regulations, and activities relating to collaborative agreements, inventions, patents, royalties, and associated matters.

September 30, 1988 -The first Consortium Cancer Center was established, comprised of three historically black medical schools. Component universities supported by this core grant-Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, Meharry Medical College in Nashville, and Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta-focused their efforts on cancer prevention, control, epidemiology, and clinical trials.

April 1989 -NCI increased efforts to supplement research grants to encourage recruitment of minority scientists and science students into extramural research laboratories. This initiative is expanded to include scientists and science students who are women or individuals with disabilities.

May 22, 1989 -NCI scientist Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg conducted the first human gene transfer trial using human tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to which a foreign gene had been added.

December 20, 1989- NCI researchers published the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Model, a tool to estimate a woman's risk of developing invasive breast cancer, based on data from case-control studies and breast cancer incidence rates in the US. Over the years, the tool has been updated and expanded to cover African Americans and other groups; it is widely used by clinicians and researchers. Originally available on a floppy disk, the tool was later renamed and made available online as the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool. The US Food and Drug Administration guidelines for use of tamoxifen and raloxifene for breast cancer risk reduction rely on estimates generated by the tool. It is also used for patient counseling and for assessing possible public health prevention strategies.

September 14, 1990 -Scientists from NCI and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute announced the first trial in which a copy of a faulty gene was inserted into white blood cells to reverse the immune deficiency it caused. The trial was initiated to treat adenosine deaminase deficiency. This was the first human gene therapy trial used to treat immunodeficiency.

January 29, 1991 -Patients with melanoma were treated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes to which a gene for tumor necrosis factor had been added. This was the first human gene therapy trial used to treat cancer.

October 1991 -NCI began the 5 A Day program, in partnership with the nonprofit group Produce for Better Health, to encourage Americans to eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day.

1992 -NCI established the Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE). The NCI Translational Research Program (TRP) is the home of SPORE and a cornerstone of NCI's efforts to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary translational cancer research. SPORE grants involve both basic and clinical/applied science, and support projects that will result in new and diverse approaches to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of human cancers.

December 18, 1992 -Taxol (paclitaxel), an anticancer drug extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew, received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of ovarian cancer that was not responsive to other therapy. NCI spearheaded the development of the drug through collaboration with the USDA's Forest Service, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. This collaboration was made possible by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986.

November 1993 -The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian trial, designed to determine whether certain screening tests will reduce the number of deaths from these cancers, began recruiting 148,000 men and women, ages 55-74.

November 1996 -Cancer mortality rates declined nearly 3% between 1991 and 1995. This was the first sustained decline since national recordkeeping was instituted in the 1930s.

1996 -The NCI Office of Liaison Activities was established to ensure that cancer research advocates have input concerning NCI research and related activities. The office, now called the Office of Advocacy Relations, supports NCI's research and programs by fostering strong communications and partnerships with the cancer advocacy community and professional societies.

August 1, 1997 -NCI, in partnership with government, academic, and industrial laboratories, launched the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project to enhance discovery of the acquired and inherited molecular changes in cancer and to evaluate the clinical potential of these discoveries. The project included a website allowing scientists to rapidly access data generated through the project and apply it to their studies.

April 6, 1998 -Results of the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial, testing the effectiveness of tamoxifen to prevent the disease, were announced 14 months earlier than expected. Women taking tamoxifen had 45% fewer breast cancer diagnoses than women on the placebo, proving that breast cancer can potentially be prevented.

September 25, 1998 -The FDA approved the monoclonal antibody Herceptin (Trastuzumab) for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in patients with tumors that produce excess amounts of a protein called HER-2. Approximately 30% of breast cancer tumors produce excess amounts of HER-2.

May 25, 1999 -The Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR) one of the largest breast cancer prevention studies ever, began recruiting volunteers at more than 400 centers across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The trial will include 22,000 postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer to determine whether the osteoporosis prevention drug raloxifene (Evista) is as effective in reducing the chance of developing breast cancer as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) has proven to be.

October 6, 1999 -NCI awarded nearly $8 million in grants toward the creation of the Early Detection Research Network, a network to discover and develop new biological tests for the early detection of cancer and of biomarkers for increased cancer risk.

December 8, 1999-NCI published the Atlas of Cancer Mortality, 1950-94, showing the geographic patterns of cancer death rates in over 3,000 counties across the country over more than 4 decades.

April 6, 2000 -A $60 million program was announced to address the unequal burden of cancer within certain populations in the United States over the next 5 years. The Special Populations Networks for Cancer Awareness Research and Training is intended to build relationships between large research institutions and community-based programs. Eighteen grants at 17 institutions are expected to create or implement cancer control, prevention, research, and training programs in minority and underserved populations.

June 7, 2000 -President Clinton issued an executive memorandum directing the Medicare program to reimburse providers for the cost of routine patient care in clinical trials. The memorandum also provides for additional actions to promote the participation of Medicare beneficiaries in clinical studies.

December 3, 2000 -As part of a national commitment to identify and address the underlying causes of disease and disability in racial and ethnic communities, NCI established the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. Because these communities carry an unequal burden of cancer-related health disparities, NCI is working to enhance its research, education, and training programs that focus on populations in need.

May 10, 2001 -FDA approval of the drug Gleevec, also known as STI571, is announced as an oral treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia. This marked the approval of the first molecularly targeted drug that directly turns off the signal of a protein known to cause a cancer. Clinical trials expanded as investigators tested Gleevec in a variety of cancers that share common molecular abnormalities.

July 24, 2001 -The largest-ever prostate cancer prevention study was launched by NCI and a network of researchers known as the Southwest Oncology Group. The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial is designed to determine if these two dietary supplements can protect against prostate cancer which is the most common form of non-skin cancer in men. The study is expected to include a total of 32,400 men.

September 4, 2001 -NCI and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network launched 3-year multicenter study of digital mammography, called the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, the first large, multicenter study to compare digital mammography to standard mammography for the detection of breast cancer.

September 10, 2001 -NCI launched the Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities program-a landmark initiative convening a network of 200 dedicated advocates who bring the viewpoint of those affected by cancer to NCI.

February 7, 2002 -Scientists from NCI and FDA reported that patterns of proteins found in patients' blood may reflect the presence of ovarian cancer, even at early stages. Currently, more than 80% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at a late clinical stage and have a 20% or less chance of survival at five years. This new diagnostic concept is potentially applicable to the diagnosis of other diseases.

May 19, 2002 -Researchers from NCI reported that the molecularly targeted drug bevacizumab slowed tumor growth in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer in adults.

June 19, 2002 -NCI scientists used microarray technology to determine the patterns of genes that are active in tumor cells from which they could predict whether patients with the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults are likely to be cured by chemotherapy.

July 16, 2002 -The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of NIH stopped a major clinical trial early of the risks and benefits of combined estrogen and progestin in healthy menopausal women due to an increased risk of invasive breast cancer. The large multi-center trial, a component of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), also found increases in coronary heart disease, stroke, and pulmonary embolism in study participants on estrogen plus progestin compared to women taking placebo pills. The trial showed that postmenopausal women who used estrogen replacement therapy for 10 or more years were at significantly higher risk of developing ovarian cancer than women who never used hormone replacement therapy.

September 18, 2002 -NCI launched the National Lung Screening Trial to compare spiral computed tomography and single-view chest x-ray for early lung cancer in 50,000 current and former heavy smokers. The trial will examine the relative risks and benefits of both tests at 30 study sites throughout the United States.

September 19, 2002 -NCI researchers demonstrated that a new approach to cancer treatment, that replaces a patient's immune system with cancer-fighting cells produced in the laboratory specifically to destroy their tumors, can lead to tumor shrinkage. The experimental technique, known as adoptive transfer, has shown promising results in patients with metastatic melanoma who have not responded to standard treatment.

October 16, 2002 -NCI and FDA scientists found that patterns of proteins in patients' blood, called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), may help distinguish between prostate cancer and benign prostate conditions. PSA is a protein produced by cells of the prostate gland. The blood level of PSA is often elevated in men with prostate cancer. The technique may be useful in deciding whether to perform a biopsy in men with elevated levels of PSA.

October 31, 2002 -NCI researchers have discovered that a molecule best known for its antimicrobial properties also can activate key cells in the immune response. This newly discovered function suggests the molecule, a peptide called Beta-defensin 2, may be useful in the development of more effective cancer vaccines.

2003 -A novel approach to treatment of solid cancers involves therapeutic agents that inhibit the generation of new blood vessels in growing tumors (angiogenesis).

March 5, 2003-Taking daily aspirin for as little as three years was shown to reduce the development of colorectal polyps by 19% to 35% in people at high risk for colorectal cancer in two randomized, controlled NCI clinical trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

May 30, 2003 -Overseen by an Interagency Oncology Task Force (IOTF), FDA and NCI entered into an agreement to share knowledge and resources to facilitate the development of new cancer drugs and speed their delivery to patients. The goal of the IOTF is to leverage the expertise and capabilities of both agencies to streamline and accelerate the overall development of diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic interventions for cancer.

June 24, 2003 -Results of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, testing the effectiveness of finasteride to prevent the disease, were announced about a year earlier than expected. Men taking finasteride had 25% fewer prostate cancer diagnoses than men on the placebo. There was a note of caution, however; the men who did develop prostate cancer while taking finasteride were more likely to have high-grade tumors.

September 2, 2003-Death rates from the four most common cancers-lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal-continued to decline in the late 1990s according to data from the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2000. This report provides an annual update of cancer incidence, mortality, and trends in the United States. NCI has partnered with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries on the report since 1998.

November 6, 2003 -NCI scientists demonstrated that the growth factors interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-15 have contrasting roles in the life and death of lymphocytes, an observation that has implications for the immunotherapy of cancer and autoimmune diseases.

September 13, 2004 -NCI announced the Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, a five-year initiative to integrate nanotechnology development into basic and applied cancer research to facilitate the rapid application of this science to the clinic. Nanotechnology is a field of research that deals with the engineering and creation of things from materials that are less than 100 nanometers (one-billionth of a meter) in size, especially single atoms or molecules. Nanotechnology offers the means to target treatments directly and selectively to cancerous cells and neoplasms.

December 10, 2004 -According to research supported by NCI, and performed in collaboration with the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and Genomic Health Inc., a new molecular test can predict the risk of breast cancer recurrence and may identify women who will benefit most from chemotherapy.

February 16, 2005 -In preparation for the new generation of molecular-based oncology medical products and as an initiative of NCI's and FDA's Interagency Oncology Task Force, the agencies jointly established an NCI-FDA Research and Regulatory Review Fellowship program, designed to train researchers to bridge the processes from scientific discovery through clinical development and regulatory review of new oncology products.

April 25, 2005 -The Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) (Breast International Group [BIG] 01-01) Trial showed the combination of the targeted agent trastuzumab (Herceptin) and standard chemotherapy cuts the risk of HER-2-positive breast cancer recurrence by more than half compared with chemotherapy alone. For women with this type of aggressive breast cancer, the addition of trastuzumab to chemotherapy appears to virtually reverse prognosis from unfavorable to good.

May 6, 2005 -NCI announced the Community Networks Program, a five-year initiative to reduce cancer disparities in minority and underserved populations through community participation in education, research, and training.

September 16, 2005 -Preliminary results from a large clinical trial of digital versus film mammography showed no difference in detecting breast cancer for the general population of women in the trial. However, those women with dense breasts, who are pre- or perimenopausal or who are younger than age 50, may benefit from having a digital rather than a film mammogram.

September 28, 2005 -NCI and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) created Rembrandt (Repository for Molecular Brain Neoplasia Data), a joint informatics initiative to molecularly characterize a large number of primary brain tumors and to correlate those data with extensive retrospective and prospective clinical data.

October 2005 -NCI initiated the Patient Navigator Research Program (PNRP) to assess the impact of patient navigators on providing timely and quality standard cancer care to patients following an abnormal cancer finding. The PNRP was designed to encourage research collaborations and partnerships with organizations serving diverse underserved communities within cancer care delivery systems.

October 5, 2005-The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2002, showed observed cancer death rates from all cancers combined dropped 1.1% per year from 1993 to 2002. The report's authors attribute the declines in death rates to progress in prevention, early detection, and treatment.

October 11, 2005 -NCI announced the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer initiative to study the effects of diet, weight, and physical activity on cancer and to answer critical questions to help guide our nation's public health efforts.

November 7, 2005 -NCI launched a cancer biorepository pilot project designed to standardize biospecimen collection and management among investigators of Specialized Programs of Research Excellence for prostate cancer to enhance the quality and availability of various biospecimens and associated data for the broader scientific community.

December 7, 2005 -Results from several studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium validated that a test called Oncotype DX can predict the risk of breast cancer recurrence in a sizable group of patients. The studies also appeared to identify which of those patients might benefit most from chemotherapy. The studies were heralded by researchers as an important moment in the move toward individualized cancer care.

December 13, 2005 -NCI and the National Human Genome Research Institute launched a comprehensive effort to accelerate an understanding of the molecular basis of cancer through the application of genome analysis technologies, especially large-scale genome sequencing. The overall effort, called The Cancer Genome Atlas, began with a pilot project to determine the feasibility of a full-scale effort to systematically explore the universe of genomic changes involved in all types of human cancer.

April 17, 2006 -Initial results of the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene showed that the drug raloxifene, used to prevent and treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, works as well as tamoxifen in reducing breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women at increased risk of the disease.

May 23, 2006 -The Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment (Rx) or TAILORx was launched to examine whether genes that are frequently associated with risk of recurrence for women with early-stage breast cancer can be used to assign patients to the most appropriate and effective treatment.

June 7, 2006 -Gene profiling, a molecular technique that examines many genes simultaneously, was shown to accurately distinguish between two types of immune cell tumors, Burkitt's lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Burkitt's lymphoma and DLBCL appear similar when viewed under a microscope but correct diagnosis is critical because each requires very different treatments.

June 8, 2006 -NCI announced FDA approval of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, based on the research of NCI scientists Douglas Lowy, M.D., and John Schiller, Ph.D. Nearly two decades before, researchers at NCI and other institutions began searching for the underlying causes of cervical cancer. That scientific quest led to the vaccine Gardasil (human papillomavirus [HPV] vaccine, quadrivalent), which protects against infection from the two types of human papillomavirus that cause the majority of cervical cancers worldwide.

June 29, 2006 -Researchers at NCI identified a link between inherited and acquired genetic factors that dramatically increase the chance of developing a very common type of melanoma.

August 1, 2006 -NCI researchers published a model for estimating an individual's 5-year risk of melanoma, based on visual inspection of the patient's back as well as risk factors identified in a large U.S. case-control study, and incidence rates for melanoma in the U.S. population. The Melanoma Risk Assessment Tool can be used by health professionals to identify individuals at increased risk of melanoma, help them plan for regular screening, and potential

October 5, 2006 -The Biomarkers Consortium, a public-private biomedical research partnership composed of The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, NIH, FDA, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, formed to search for and validate new biomarkers to accelerate the delivery of new technologies, medicines, and therapies for prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.

October 18, 2006 -NCI released new data from the Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) study on prostate cancer intended to help identify genetic factors that influence the disease and could be integral to the discovery and development of new, targeted therapies. This was the first public release of a whole-genome association study of cancer-such studies examine the entire genome, with no assumptions about which genetic alterations cause cancer.

March 28, 2007 -Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of women who were diagnosed with cancer in one breast detected over 90% of cancers in the other breast that were missed by mammography and clinical breast exam at initial diagnosis, according to an American College of Radiology Imaging Network study supported by NCI. Adding an MRI scan to the diagnostic evaluation effectively doubled the number of cancers immediately found in these women.

April 1, 2007 -NCI and Cancer Genetic Markers of Susceptibility researchers reported that a variation in a portion of DNA strongly predicts prostate cancer risk and that this common variation may be responsible for up to 20% of prostate cancer cases in white men in the United States.

April 18, 2007 -A report using data from NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program showed that a sharp decline in the rate of new breast cancer cases in 2003 may be related to a national decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Age-adjusted breast cancer incidence rates in women in the United States fell 6.7% from 2002 to 2003. Prescriptions for HRT also declined rapidly in 2002 and 2003.

May 8, 2007 -Researchers from NCI and Baylor College of Medicine found that people infected with the hepatitis C virus are at an increased risk of developing certain lymphomas (cancers of the lymphatic system).

June 14, 2007 -NCI launched the three-year pilot phase of a new program that will help bring state-of-the-art cancer care to patients in community hospitals across the United States. The NCI Community Cancer Centers Program was designed to encourage collaboration between private-practice medical, surgical and radiation oncologists and NCI's network of 63 NCI-designated Cancer Centers principally based at large research universities.

October 15, 2007- The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2004, showed cancer death rates decreased on average 2.1% per year from 2002 through 2004, nearly twice the annual decrease of 1.1% per year from 1993 through 2002.

November 1, 2007 -NCI sponsored a symposium, HIV/AIDS Research at the National Cancer Institute: A Record of Sustained Excellence, to celebrate the achievements in HIV/AIDS research by former and current NCI scientists, and announce future plans for continuing efforts to combat HIV infection, the devastating consequences of AIDS, and AIDS-related cancers.

November 27, 2007 -A new model for calculating invasive breast cancer risk (the CARE model) was found to give better estimates of the number of breast cancers that would develop in African American women 50 to 79 years of age than an earlier model which was based primarily on data from white women.

January 2008 -Scientists reported that results of a randomized phase III clinical trial show that a combination of low oral doses of difluoromethylornithine and sulindac greatly reduces the recurrence of colon polyps and is safe and well tolerated.

March 6, 2008 -DNA mutations found in a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that has a poor prognosis led researchers to a better understanding of how the cancer develops and how it might be treated.

April 21, 2008 -Researchers identified a pattern of gene activity in mice that may help to predict individual risk for breast cancer metastasis and survival in humans. A single gene called bromodomain 4 (Brd4) regulates the expression of this pattern, also called a signature. Researchers found that one result of this Brd4 regulation is the suppression of tumor growth and metastasis in a mouse model of cancer.

June 23, 2008 -NCI researchers found that cells from a blood-borne cancer called multiple myeloma rely on the activity of a single protein, IRF4, for the activation of a wide range of genes responsible for cell survival and spread. Blocking the production of this protein can be strikingly effective in eliminating cancer cells in laboratory models of multiple myeloma.

January 1, 2009 -Scientists identified mutations in a gene that predict a high likelihood of relapse in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Although further research is needed, the findings are likely to provide the basis for future diagnostic tests to assess the risk of treatment failure. By using a molecular test to identify this genetic marker in ALL patients, physicians should be better able to determine appropriate therapies.

February 11, 2009 -Researchers established that abnormal white blood cells can be present in patients' blood more than six years prior to the diagnosis of a chronic form of lymphocytic leukemia. This finding may lead to a better understanding of the cellular changes that characterize the earliest stages of the disease and how it progresses.

March 18, 2009 -A new report from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, designed to provide answers about the effectiveness of prostate cancer screening, showed that six annual screenings for prostate cancer led to more diagnoses of the disease, but no fewer prostate cancer deaths.

August 14, 2009 -Results of a randomized phase III clinical trial show that targeted therapy with the drug imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) reduces disease recurrence following surgery to remove a localized gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

October 5, 2009 -Researchers identified a gene that may play a role in the growth and spread of a childhood cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, which develops in the body's soft tissues. The finding revealed a potential new target for the treatment of this disease.

October 7, 2009 -Researchers found that a small RNA molecule, known as a microRNA, may help physicians identify liver cancer patients who, in spite of their poor prognosis, could respond well to treatment with a biological agent called interferon.

December 18, 2009 -Initial results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, showed that patients who received the oral drug lenalidomide (Revlimid, also known as CC-5013) following a blood stem cell transplant avoided recurrences longer than patients who received a placebo.

January 6, 2010 -Researchers with a study conducted at NCI, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Human Genome Research Institute, discovered genetic mutations that may contribute to the development of an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These findings provided insight into a mechanism that cancer cells may use to survive, thus identifying potential new targets for treatment of the disease.

January 19, 2010 -Researchers found that the most common form of malignant brain cancer in adults, glioblastoma multiforme, is not a single disease but appears to be four distinct molecular subtypes that respond to aggressive chemotherapy and radiation differently, according to a study by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network.

April 19, 2010 -Long-term results show that Raloxifene, a common osteoporosis drug, prevented breast cancer to the same degree, but with fewer serious side-effects than the drug Tamoxifen that had been in use many years for breast cancer prevention as well as treatment. Raloxifene retained 76% of the effectiveness of Tamoxifen in preventing invasive disease and grew closer to Tamoxifen in preventing noninvasive disease. In particular, there was significantly less endometrial cancer with raloxifene use.

November 4, 2010 -The National Lung Screening Trial, a randomized national trial involving more than 53,000 current and former heavy smokers ages 55 to 74, compared the effects of two screening procedures for lung cancer-low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) and standard chest X-ray-on lung cancer mortality and found 20% fewer lung cancer deaths among trial participants screened with low-dose helical CT.

November 10, 2010 -Researchers discovered mutations in a particular gene that affects the treatment prognosis for some patients with acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer that kills 9,000 Americans annually.

December 23, 2010 -NCI announced major changes to the long-established Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program that conducts many of the nationwide trials of new cancer therapies. In a major transformation, NCI intends to consolidate the nine groups that currently conduct trials in adult cancer patients into four state-of-the-art entities that will design and perform improved trials of cancer therapies. The changes are designed to provide greater benefits for cancer patients and more information for researchers. These moves come in response to an NCI-requested April 2010 report from the Institute of Medicine, which called for a series of changes to the cooperative groups program, including restructuring. The NCI Cooperative Group program, founded over 50 years ago, involves more than 3,100 institutions and 14,000 investigators, and the program enrolls over 25,000 patients in clinical trials each year.

March 10, 2011 -The number of cancer survivors in the United States increased to 11.7 million in 2007, according to a report released by NCI and CDC. There were 3 million cancer survivors in 1971 and 9.8 million in 2001.

March 31, 2011 -Rates of death in the United States from all cancers for men and women continued to decline between 2003 and 2007, the most recent reporting period available, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. The report also finds that the overall rate of new cancer diagnoses for men and women combined decreased an average of slightly less than 1% per year for the same period.

June 5, 2011 -NCI announced clinical trial results showing that in a high-risk form of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a high-dose schedule of a drug raises already high cure rates even higher.

June 29, 2011 -An analysis of genomic changes in ovarian cancer has provided the most comprehensive and integrated view of cancer genes for any cancer type to date. Ovarian serous adenocarcinoma tumors from 500 patients were examined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network. TCGA researchers completed whole-exome sequencing, which examines the protein-coding regions of the genome, on an unprecedented 316 tumors.

September, 8, 2011 -The NCI-sponsored Costa Rica Vaccine Trial was designed to assess the efficacy of Cervarix in a community-based setting. Two doses of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) Cervarix were as effective as the current standard three-dose regimen after four years of follow-up.

January 19, 2012 -A clinical trial has shown that addition of chemotherapy to radiation therapy leads to a near doubling of median survival time in patients with a form of brain tumor (oligodendroglioma) that carries a chromosomal abnormality called the 1p19q co-deletion.

March 2, 2012 -The Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study looked at 12,315 workers at 8 non-metal mining facilities in the United States. Federal government scientists reported that heavy exposure to diesel exhaust increased risk of death from lung cancer.

March 8, 2012 -In a new examination of United States cancer incidence data, investigators reported that incidence trends have remained roughly constant for glioma, the main type of brain cancer hypothesized to be related to cell phone use.

May 21, 2012- In a study that spanned 20 years, the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, sponsored by NCI, found that sigmoidoscopy is effective in reducing the rates of new cases and deaths due to colorectal cancer. Researchers found that overall colorectal cancer mortality (deaths) was reduced by 26% and incidence (new cases) was reduced by 21% as a result of screening with sigmoidoscopy.

September 24, 2012 -A study from The Cancer Genome Atlas captured a complete view of genomic alterations in breast cancer and classified them into four intrinsic subtypes, one of which shares many genetic features with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, the most malignant form of ovarian cancer which accounts for up to 70% of all ovarian cancer cases.

September 27, 2012 -Scientists may have discovered why a protein called MYC can provoke a variety of cancers. Like many proteins associated with cancer, MYC helps regulate cell growth. A study carried out by researchers at NIH and colleagues found that, unlike many other cell growth regulators, MYC does not turn genes on or off, but instead boosts the expression of genes that are already turned on.

2013 -NCI established the RAS Initiative to mobilize the cancer research community to develop ways to understand and target cancers driven by mutant RAS genes in an open model of collaboration among government, academic, and industry researchers. More than 30 percent of all human cancers are driven by mutations of the RAS family of genes. This approach is called a "hub and spoke" model. The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) acts as the hub that connects to the larger community of RAS researchers around the world combining efforts and creating new ways to approach the complex issue of RAS.

September 19, 2013 -A world-wide competition to bring emerging breast cancer technologies to market was launched by the Avon Foundation for Women, in partnership with NCI and the Center for Advancing Innovation. The Avon Foundation funded $250,000 in grants to launch the Breast Cancer Start-up Challenge aimed at teams of business, legal, medical/scientific, engineering, and computer science students, as well as seasoned entrepreneurs. Teams were offered the opportunity to create strategic business plans and the potential to start new companies based on the development of 10 unlicensed breast cancer inventions by turning them into commercially marketed products. Breast cancer inventions include therapeutics, diagnostics, prognostics, one device, one vaccine, and a health IT invention, all from the NCI intramural Center for Cancer Research and Avon Foundation-funded university labs.

October 10, 2013 -Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) was the first cancer type to be systematically studied by The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network (TCGA) in 2008. In a new, complementary report, TCGA experts examined more than 590 GBM samples-the largest to date utilizing genomic characterization techniques and nearly 400 more than were examined in 2008-to identify several additional significantly mutated genes in GBM.

November 13, 2013 -A trial conducted by researchers at NCI showed adult patients with a type of cancer known as Burkitt lymphoma had excellent long-term survival rates-upwards of 90 percent-following treatment with low-intensity chemotherapy regimens. Standard treatment for Burkitt lymphoma involves high-dose chemotherapy, which has a high rate of toxicity, including death, and cures only 60 percent of adult patients.

November 20, 2013 -NCI scientists report that the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer significantly increased during the period 1983-2002 among people in countries that are economically developed. Recent studies from several countries have reported rising incidence of oropharyngeal cancers and subsequent studies have shown the human papilloma virus (HPV) as the potential cause. Researchers note that prophylactic HPV vaccine has been shown to protect against oral HPV infection, suggesting an additional benefit of vaccination programs for both women and men.

March 1, 2014 -NCI transformed its longstanding Cooperative Group program into the new National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN). Recent advances in deciphering the cancer genome have enabled the development of targeted therapies. To explore targeted therapies, cancer clinical trials need to screen large numbers of patients with the same or different histologic tumor types to identify those patients whose tumors contain the distinct molecular targets of the therapies being tested. NCI's NCTN was developed to meet these new scientific challenges and is organized to take maximal advantage of the opportunities afforded by the improved understanding of tumor biology as well as the improved efficiencies created by the centralization and streamlining of many critical functions, such as tissue banks, ethics approvals, and imaging support.

March 5, 2014- Ten winners of a world-wide competition to bring emerging breast cancer research technologies to market faster were announced today by the Avon Foundation for Women, in partnership with the NCI, and the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI). Avon is providing $250,000 in funding for this challenge.

August 18, 2014 -In NCI's 5 to 6-year ALCHEMIST Trial (Adjuvant Lung Cancer Enrichment Marker Identification and Sequencing Trials), 6,000-8,000 participant's surgically removed tumors will be tested in a central laboratory for genetic changes in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. ALCHEMIST represents three integrated, precision medicine trials that are designed to identify people with early-stage lung cancer who have tumors that harbor EGFR and ALK gene alterations and evaluate whether drug treatments targeted against those molecular changes can lead to improved survival compared to current standard of care therapy alone (e.g., chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy after complete surgical resection as prescribed by a participant's treating physician).

August 30, 2014 -In a large international collaborative analysis of risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), NCI scientists were able to quantify risk associated with medical history, lifestyle factors, family history of blood or lymph-borne cancers, and occupation for 11 different NHL subtypes, including less common subtypes. These findings provide crucial insight into the diverse factors that drive different NHL subtypes and correspond with their biological and clinical characteristics.

October 7, 2014 -President Obama announced that John Schiller, Ph.D., Laboratory of Cellular Oncology (LCO), Center for Cancer Research, NCI; and Douglas Lowy, M.D., also from LCO and NCI (then) deputy director, would be recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation-the nation's highest honor for technological achievement. The honorees received their medals at a White House ceremony later in 2014 as recognition for their outstanding contributions to discoveries that enabled the development of HPV vaccines.

2014 -The NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) is launched. NCORP is a national network of investigators, cancer care providers, academic institutions, and other organizations. NCORP replaced NCI's previously supported community networks: Community Clinical Oncology Program and the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program. NCORP conducts multi-site cancer clinical trials and studies in diverse populations in community-based healthcare systems across the United States and Puerto Rico with a goal of NCORP bringing cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery research to individuals in their own communities.

2015 -President Obama announced a research effort focusing on bringing precision medicine to many aspects of healthcare. $216 million in funding was allocated to NCI and FDA for the initiative. Researchers at NCI intend to use this approach to find new, more effective treatments for various kinds of cancer based on increased knowledge of the genetics and biology of the disease and scientists hope to apply precision medicine to all areas of health and healthcare.

January 27, 2015 -In the largest prospective study to date of image-guided technology for identifying suspicious regions of the prostate to biopsy, NCI researchers compared the ability of this technology to detect high-risk prostate cancer with that of the current standard of unguided prostate biopsy. The image-guided approach, called MR/US fusion biopsy, combines targeted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with transrectal ultrasound (US) to identify regions of suspected cancer to biopsy, whereas the current standard of detection, performed with ultrasound alone, involves biopsy of the entire prostate with twelve needles to remove core samples from separate areas of the organ.

April 20, 2015 -A new NCI study shows that inherited variations in a known tumor suppressor gene among children and adolescents with osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone, are more common than previously thought. Older patients who are also susceptible to this malignancy were not found to carry mutations in the gene, known as TP53.

June 1, 2015 -Investigators for the nationwide trial, NCI-MATCH (Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice), announced that the precision medicine trial will open to patient enrollment. NCI-MATCH analyzes patients' tumors to determine whether they contain gene abnormalities for which a targeted drug exists and assigns treatment based on the abnormality. The study was co-developed by NCI and the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, a cooperative group that was formed by the merger of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN).

August 13, 2015 -Using novel large-scale imaging technology, NCI intramural researchers announced they have mapped the spatial location of individual genes in the nucleus of human cells and identified 50 cellular factors required for the proper three-dimensional (3D) positioning of genes. These spatial locations play important roles in gene expression, DNA repair, genome stability, and other cellular activities.

January 12, 2016 -During his 2016 State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Vice President Biden to lead a new, national "Moonshot" initiative to eliminate cancer as we know it. The goal is to double the rate of progress against cancer, achieving in five years what otherwise would have taken ten. The White House announced a $1 billion initiative to jumpstart this work.

May 16, 2016 -NCI scientists found that leisure-time physical activity was associated with lower risks of 13 cancer types (esophageal adenocarcinoma, liver, lung, kidney, gastric cardia, endometrial, myeloid leukemia, myeloma, colon, head and neck, rectal, bladder, and breast). Most of these associations were evident regardless of body mass index or smoking history. These findings confirm and extend the evidence for a benefit of physical activity on cancer risk and support its role as a key component of population-wide cancer prevention.

June 29, 2016 -NCI's Genomic Data Commons (GDC) is announced. This data sharing platform promotes precision medicine in oncology. It is an expandable knowledge network supporting the import and standardization of genomic and clinical data from cancer research programs. The GDC contains NCI-generated data from some of the largest and most comprehensive cancer genomic datasets, including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Therapies (TARGET). As more researchers add clinical and genomic data to the GDC, it will become an even more powerful tool for making discoveries about the molecular basis of cancer that may lead to better care for patients.

July 11, 2016 -In the spirit of collaboration inspired by the Cancer Moonshot, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and NCI announced a new tri-agency coalition to help cancer patients by enabling their oncologists to more rapidly and accurately identify effective drugs to treat cancer based on a patient's unique proteogenomic profile. The APOLLO  Network (Applied Proteogenomics OrganizationaL Learning and Outcomes)  will look at both a patient's genes (genomic analysis) and the expression of these genes in the form of proteins (proteomic analysis) to create the nation's first system in which cancer patients are routinely screened for genomic abnormalities and proteomic information to match their tumor types to targeted therapies. Initially, APOLLO is focusing on a combined cohort of 8,000 cancer patients within the nation's two largest healthcare systems - the VA and DoD - with the aim of expanding the program to additional cancer types and making findings available to physicians across the country.

September 7, 2016 -NCI Acting Director Douglas Lowy, M.D., accepted the recommendations of a Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) on 10 scientific approaches most likely to make a decade's worth of progress against cancer in five years under the Cancer Moonshot. The report was presented by the BRP to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), and it was subsequently considered and accepted by the NCAB with revisions that reflect NCAB's discussion.

December 7, 2016- In a study of an immune therapy for colorectal cancer that involved a single patient, researchers identified a method for targeting the cancer-causing protein produced by a mutant form of the KRAS gene.

December 28, 2016 -In an early-phase intramural clinical trial of a new oral drug, selumetinib, children with the common genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and plexiform neurofibromas, tumors of the peripheral nerves, tolerated selumetinib and, in most cases, responded to it with tumor shrinkage. At present, no therapies are considered effective for NF1-related large plexiform neurofibromas, but, in this trial, partial responses, meaning 20 percent or more reduction in tumor volume, were observed in over 70 percent of the patients. NF1 affects 1 in 3,000 people.

NCI Legislative Chronology

February 4, 1927 -Senator M. M. Neely, West Virginia, introduced Senate Bill 5589 to authorize a reward for the discovery of a successful cure for cancer. The reward was to be $5 million.

March 7, 1928 -Senator M. M. Neely introduced Senate Bill 3554 to authorize the National Academy of Sciences to investigate the means and methods for affording Federal aid in discovering a cure for cancer and for other purposes.

April 23, 1929 -Senator W. J. Harris, Georgia, introduced Senate Bill 466 to authorize the Public Health Service and the National Academy of Sciences jointly to investigate the means and methods for affording Federal aid in discovering a cure for cancer and for other purposes.

April 2, 1937 -Senator Homer T. Bone, Washington, introduced Senate Bill 2067 authorizing the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to control and prevent the spread of the disease of cancer, authorizing an annual appropriation of $1 million.

April 29, 1937 -Congressman Maury Maverick, Texas, introduced House Resolution 6767 to promote research in the cause, prevention, and methods of diagnosis and treatment of cancer, to provide better facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, to establish a National Cancer Center in the Public Health Service, and for other purposes. It authorizes an appropriation of $2,400,000 for the first year and $1 million annually thereafter.

August 5, 1937 -The National Cancer Institute Act establishes the National Cancer Institute as the federal government's principal agency for conducting research and training on the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The bill also calls upon NCI to assist and promote similar research at other public and private institutions. An appropriation of $700,000 for each fiscal year is authorized. (P.L. 75-244)

March 28, 1938 -House Joint Resolution 468, 75th Congress, was passed, "To dedicate the month of April in each year to a voluntary national program for the control of cancer."

July 1, 1944 -The Public Health Service Act, P.L. 410, 78th Congress, provided that "The National Cancer Institute shall be a division in the National Institute of Health." The act also revised and consolidated many revisions into a single law. The limit of $700,000 annual appropriation was removed.

December 23, 1971 -The National Cancer Act of 1971 provides increased authorities and responsibilities for the NCI Director; initiating a National Cancer Program; establishing a 3-member President's Cancer Panel and a 23-member National Cancer Advisory Board, the latter replacing the National Advisory Cancer Council; authorizing the establishment of 15 new research, training, and demonstration cancer centers; establishing cancer control programs as necessary for cooperation with state and other health agencies in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer; and providing for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of all data useful in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, including the establishment of an international cancer data research bank. (P.L. 92-218)

November 9, 1978 -The Community Mental Health Centers Act amends the National Cancer Act to emphasize education and demonstration programs in cancer treatment and prevention, and stipulates that NCI devote more resources to prevention, focusing particularly on environmental, dietary and occupational cancer causes. (P.L. 95-622)

November 4, 1988 -The Health Research Extension Act of 1988 provides a two-year extension, which reaffirms the special authorities of NCI and added information dissemination mandates. A representative from the Department of Energy was added to the National Cancer Advisory Board as an ex officio member. (P.L. 100-607)

June 10, 1993 -The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 encourages NCI to expand and intensify its efforts in breast cancer and other women's cancers and authorized increased appropriations. Similar language is included for prostate cancer. (P.L. 103-43)

August 13, 1998 -The Stamp Out Breast Cancer Act establishes a special alternative rate of postage up to 25% higher than a regular first-class stamp. 70% of the profits from the sale of the stamp, also referred to as a semipostal, would go to the NIH to fund breast cancer research; the remaining 30% would go to the U.S. Department of Defense breast cancer research. (PL 105-41)

July 10, 2000 -The Radiation Exposure Compensation Amendments of 1999 allow more workers who handled radioactive material for weapons programs to be eligible to receive federal compensation for radiation-induced illness. (P.L. 106-245)

July 28, 2000 -The Semipostal Authorization Act gives the U.S. Postal Service the authority to issue semipostal stamps, which are sold at a premium in order to help provide funding for a particular area of research. The law also extends the Breast Cancer Stamp Act until July 29, 2002. (P.L. 106-253)

January 4, 2002 -The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act is designed to improve the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals for children, by reauthorizing legislation that encourages pediatric drug research by giving drug companies an incentive of six months of additional market exclusivity to test their products for use in children. (P.L. 107-109)

May 14, 2002 -The Hematologic Cancer Research Investment and Education Act of 2002 directs the NIH Director, through the NCI Director, to conduct and support research on blood cancers. In addition, the CDC is directed to establish and carry out an information and education program. (P.L. 107-172)

September 10, 2002 -The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act contains a provision instructing Federal agencies to stockpile and distribute potassium iodide (KI) to protect the public from thyroid cancer in the event of a radiation emergency. (P.L. 107-188)

June 30, 2005 -The Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005 amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize a demonstration grant program to provide patient navigator services to reduce barriers and improve health care outcomes. The bill directs the HHS Secretary to require each recipient of a grant under this section to use the grant to recruit, assign, train, and employ patient navigators who have direct knowledge of the communities they serve to facilitate the care of individuals who have cancer or other chronic diseases. The bill also directs the HHS Secretary to coordinate with, and ensure the participation of, the Indian Health Service, NCI, the Office of Rural Health Policy, and such other offices and agencies as deemed appropriate by the Secretary, regarding the design and evaluation of the demonstration programs. (P.L. 109-18)

November 11, 2005 -The 2-Year Extension of Postage Stamp for Breast Cancer Research extends the U.S. Postal Service's authority to issue special postage stamps to help provide funding for breast cancer research through December 31, 2007. (P.L. 109-100)

January 12, 2007 -The Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005, or "Johanna's Law" directs the HHS Secretary to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of health care providers and women with respect to gynecologic cancers. (P.L. 109-475)

April 20, 2007 -The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 allows states to apply for federal waivers to spend a greater share of funds on hard-to-reach underserved women. This bill authorizes funding up to $275 million by 2012; $201 million is authorized for 2007. (P.L. 110-18)

September 27, 2007-The FDA Amendments Act of 2007 amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to reauthorize the collection of prescription drug user fees for FY2008-FY2012. Requires NIH to expand the clinical trial registry ( clinicaltrials.gov) and creates a clinical trial results database. (P.L. 110-85)

December 12, 2007 -The Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act extends through December 31, 2011, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp which contributes to funding breast cancer research. (P.L. 110-150)

July 29, 2008 -The Caroline Pryce Walker Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 amends the Public Health Service Act to advance medical research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers. (P.L. 110-287)

October 8, 2008 -The Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007 amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of research centers regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. The bill establishes an Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee within HHS. (P.L. 110-354)

February 4, 2009 -The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 increases the tax on cigarettes by 62 cents to $1.01 per pack and raises taxes on other tobacco products, in order to offset the cost of the program expansion. (P.L. 113-3)

February 17, 2009 -The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $10 billion in additional funding for the NIH; of which NCI received $1.3 billion in Recovery Act funds to be distributed during the two-year span of 2009 and 2010. (P.L. 111-5)

June 21, 2009 -The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act provides the FDA with the authority to regulate tobacco products and establishes within the FDA, the Center for Tobacco Products to implement this act. The Act allows the Secretary of HHS to restrict the sale or distribution and the advertising or promotion of tobacco products, if appropriate for the protection of the public health, and to the full extent permitted by the First Amendment. (P.L. 111-31)

March 23, 2010 -The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590), the health care reform bill, establishes a private non-profit institute called the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, obtain and use data from the Federal government, and establish advisory panels to advise on research priorities, among other provisions. The bill requires NIH to conduct research to develop and validate new screening tests for breast cancer. The bill also requires the NIH Director to establish a Cures Acceleration Network (CAN) program, which shall award grants and contracts to eligible entities to accelerate the development of high need cures and therapies, including the development of medical products, drugs or devices, or biological products. (P.L. 111-148)

March 31, 2010 -The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 prevents tobacco smuggling, ensures the collection of all tobacco taxes, and includes smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance. The bill amends the federal criminal code to treat cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as non-mailable and prohibit such items from being deposited in or carried through the U.S. mail. (P.L.111-154)

December 23, 2011 -The Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act reauthorized provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp which contributes to funding breast cancer research, extending them through 2015. (P.L. 112-80)

January 2, 2013 -The Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 passed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. The legislation calls for NCI to develop a scientific framework for research on two cancers that have a five-year relative survival rate of less than 20 percent, and are estimated to cause the death of at least 30,000 individuals in the United States per year. Pancreatic cancer and lung cancer meet these criteria. (P.L. 112-239)

December 11, 2015 -The Breast Cancer Stamp Reauthorization Act reauthorized the issuance of semipostal stamps for breast cancer research, through 2019. (P.L. 114-19)

December 13, 2016-The 21 st Century Cures Act increases funding for biomedical research, and aims to enhance the speed at which drugs are developed and approved. Key NIH provisions aim to coordinate policies relating to early career investigators, improve loan repayment programs, and streamline procedural requirements for attendance at scientific meetings. The bill reauthorizes the NIH for FY2018-FY2020 and creates a $4.8 billion NIH Innovation Account. This account supports the work of the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot at a level of $1.8 billion over seven years, as well as the Precision Medicine Initiative, the BRAIN Initiative, and specific regenerative medicine research. The funds in the Account must be appropriated annually.

Biographical Sketch of NCI Director Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell

W. Kimryn Rathmell, M.D., Ph.D., M.M.H.C., was sworn in as the 17th NCI director on December 18, 2023. She previously led the Vanderbilt University Medical Center as physician-in-chief and chair of the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Rathmell is a recipient of the 2019 Louisa Nelson Award for Women of Achievement, Vision, and Inspiration, the 2019 Eugene P. Schonfeld Award from the Kidney Cancer Association, and the Paragon Award for Research Excellence from the Doris Duke Foundation. She was a leader of The Cancer Genome Atlas's (TCGA) kidney cancer projects and served as a TCGA analysis working group member across the spectrum of cancers, winning the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award. She has served on the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors, and the Forbeck Foundation Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Rathmell has held leadership positions with the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, serving as secretary-treasurer and president. As a result of her efforts, Dr. Rathmell has been elected to the Association of American Physicians, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. Rathmell's specialty is the research and treatment of complex and hereditary kidney cancers. She also focuses on underlying drivers of kidney cancers using genetic, molecular, and cell biology to develop interventions to improve patients' lives. Dr. Rathmell's research has resulted in more than 250 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Rathmell earned undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of Northern Iowa and her Ph.D. in biophysics and M.D. from Stanford University. She completed an internal medicine internship at the University of Chicago and an internal medicine residency, medical oncology fellowship, and postdoctoral studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, she completed her Master of Management in Health Care from the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management.

NCI Directors

National Cancer Institute Research Programs

The National Cancer Institute leads the National Cancer Program through its operation of research components that provide support for extramural and intramural cancer-related research and through its outreach and collaborations within the cancer community worldwide.

Cancer research is conducted with NCI funding in nearly every state in the United States and more than 20 foreign countries, in addition to research conducted at its own facilities. NCI supports cancer research training, education, and career development, and provides leadership for setting national priorities in cancer research.

NCI Research Components

Center for Cancer Research

The CCR is the largest division of the NCI intramural research program and comprises over 230 basic and clinical research groups located on two campuses outside of Washington, D.C.

The CCR is home to an extraordinary group of scientists and clinicians exploring the cutting-edge of cancer and HIV/AIDS research. Our scientists work on a wide spectrum of biological and biomedical problems ranging from visualizing and understanding the structure of individual genes and proteins, developing novel methods for drug discovery, to inventing biomedical devices and technology and creating innovative ways to treat patients in the NIH Clinical Center.

Our scientists enjoy complete intellectual freedom and are expected to creatively and innovatively explore the most important questions in the field of cancer research and treatment. We support projects over a long time horizon allowing our investigators to pursue some of the most difficult, high-risk problems in the field and we are always on the lookout for new challenges and the most pressing problems in modern cancer research.

The success of the CCR is grounded in an exceptionally strong discovery research program which provides the foundation for the seamless translation of insights into basic cellular and molecular processes to clinical applications and patient care. Examples of our success are the development of ground-breaking immunotherapy approaches, HIV/AIDS test and the creation of human papilloma virus vaccine.

The CCR is a unique place of science where we combine diverse expertise with the freedom to thoroughly pursue the most pressing questions in cancer biology and treatment.

Additional information is available at https://ccr.cancer.gov

Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics

Through its broad programs in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, and related areas, the intramural Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG) carries out population-based and interdisciplinary research both nationally and internationally to discover the genetic and environmental determinants of cancer. DCEG is uniquely positioned to conduct value-added epidemiologic research projects that are high-risk in nature and require (a) long-term commitments of scientific staff and funding support through contracts, (b) a coordinated national programmatic approach, or (c) a rapid response to emerging public health or scientific issues. The Division develops multi-disciplinary infrastructures and resources for use throughout the scientific community, including database management software for genome-wide association studies, biospecimen inventories, family-based studies, a variety of software packages for exposure assessment, and interactive cancer mortality atlases to generate leads into the environmental determinants of cancer. DCEG also has a firm commitment to training the next generation of scientists, and has trainees from the predoctoral to postdoctoral stage. The research conducted by the Division often provides a scientific basis for public health recommendations and policies.

The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program consists of five branches that conduct independent and collaborative epidemiologic and biostatistical investigations to identify the distribution, characteristics, and causes of cancer in human populations. The Program investigates demographic variation in the occurrence of cancer by age, race, gender, geography, and over time. Special emphasis is placed on the carcinogenic effects of occupational and environmental exposures, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, dietary and metabolic factors, medicinal agents such as hormones, infectious agents, and host factors including genetic susceptibility to cancer-causing exposures. The Program also develops biostatistical methods for family-based and population-based studies on cancer etiology and prevention.

The Human Genetics Program provides an expanded focus for interdisciplinary research into the genetic determinants of human cancer. Its branches and laboratory explore and identify heritable factors that predispose to cancer, including studies of gene-environment interactions. Program investigators study cancer-prone families to identify and clone predisposing genes; investigate the prevalence of identified genes in the general population; conduct pharmacogenetic studies to evaluate genetic polymorphisms as determinants of cancer risk and treatment outcomes; conduct integrative analyses of environmental and germline risk factors with comprehensive data on histological and molecular profiling of tumors and their precursors, including somatic genomic analyses; and translate advances in molecular genetics into evidence-based management strategies. The Laboratory of Translational Genomics examines validated regions of the genome associated with cancer risk, laying the groundwork for functional studies to determine the causal variants and biological mechanisms involved. These activities are complemented by the NCI Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, where genome-wide association studies and next generation sequencing are carried out to uncover the heritable components to cancer.

Fellows in the DCEG Fellowship Program work with world class scientists to explore the causes of cancer and new approaches to its prevention. Predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows carry out, analyze, and publish population, family, and laboratory-based studies. They gain experience in diverse study designs, novel analytic techniques, and genomics and informatics. Professional skills development and preparation for future careers in epidemiology and related areas are an integral part of the program. For more information and to apply, visit our Web site at: http://dceg.cancer.gov/fellowship-training.

Additional information is available at http://dceg.cancer.gov.

Division of Cancer Biology

The Division of Cancer Biology (DCB) supports basic research in all areas of cancer biology and provides the research foundation that improves understanding of the disease. This basic research may lead to new approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Research on basic cancer biology provides the building blocks to new treatments and clinical trials. DCB provides scientific management for approximately 2,000 grants each year. DCB facilitates investigator-initiated research by working with individual investigators, professional societies, and research institutions to provide information, advice, and guidance on opportunities for research support. At the forefront of cancer research, DCB establishes program priorities by identifying and addressing emerging scientific areas or gaps in the scientific research portfolio and reports on scientific progress and program accomplishments to the scientific community, NCI, Congress, and the public.

Basic research is supported by the Division in the following major research areas: cancer cell biology; cancer immunology, hematology, and etiology; DNA and chromosome aberrations; structural biology and molecular applications; tumor biology and microenvironment; and tumor metastasis.

Special research programs within DCB include: Physical Sciences-Oncology Network, Cancer Systems Biology Consortium, Oncology Models Forum, Barrett's Esophagus Translational Research Network, New Approaches to Synthetic Lethality for Mutant KRAS-Dependent Cancers, Molecular and Cellular Characterization of Screen-Detected Lesions, Fusion Oncoproteins in Childhood Cancers, and Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative.

In addition, the Division sponsors several resources for cancer researchers including bioinformatics tools for analyzing data, such as a state-of-the-art X-ray crystallography experimental facility funded through the GM/CA CAT Project, and data and specimen repositories such as The Chernobyl Tissue bank and The International Registry of Werner Syndrome.

Additional information is available at https://cancer.gov/dcb.

Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences

The Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), NCI's bridge to public health research, practice, and policy, plays a unique role in reducing the burden of cancer in America. DCCPS, an extramural division, supports research in surveillance, epidemiology, health services, behavioral science, and cancer survivorship. The division also plays a central role within the federal government as a source of expertise and evidence on issues such as the quality of cancer care, the economic burden of cancer, geographic information systems, statistical methods, communication science, comparative effectiveness research, obesity and tobacco control, and the translation of research into practice.

The DCCPS philosophy that scientific progress in the 21st century will depend on the transdisciplinary integration of research methods, models, and levels of analysis drives the focus on varied and complex expertise and backgrounds of the division's scientific staff. In addition to an emphasis on epidemiology and biostatistics, DCCPS has made a special effort to recruit experts in disciplines such as communication, anthropology, outcomes research, psychometrics, medical genetics, health psychology, economics, social work, policy analysis, geography, and family medicine. DCCPS programs include: Behavioral Research Program, Epidemiology & Genomics Research Program, Healthcare Delivery Research Program, and Surveillance Research Program. The Office of Cancer Survivorship is housed within DCCPS and promotes a better understanding of the unique needs of cancer survivors and how to address those needs.

Additional information is available at http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov.

Division of Cancer Prevention

The Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) conducts and supports research to determine a person's risk of developing cancer and to find ways to reduce that risk. Through laboratory, clinical, and epidemiologic research, scientists have shown that the diseases of cancer occur not as single, catastrophic events, but rather as the result of a complex and long-evolving molecular process. The intervals between initiation of the cancer process and occurrence of the invasive disease vary by organ and tissue sites, and some may take decades. DCP research portfolio focuses across this span, with a goal to detect changes and intervene early in the cancer process to prevent disease and death.

Research groups include: Chemopreventive Agent Development Research Group, Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group, Nutritional Science Research Group, Cancer Biomarkers Research Group, Early Detection Research Group, Biometry Research Group, and four organ system research groups.

Additional information is available at http://prevention.cancer.gov.

Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis

The Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) takes prospective detection and treatment leads, facilitates their paths to clinical application, and expedites the initial and subsequent large-scale testing of new agents, biomarkers, imaging tests, and other therapeutic interventions (radiation, surgery, immunotherapy) in patients. Investigators supported by the division engage in scientifically sound, high-risk research that may yield great benefits for patients with cancer, but are too difficult or risky for industry or academia to pursue. This includes a particular emphasis on the development of distinct molecular signatures for cancer, refined molecular assays, and state-of-the-art imaging techniques that will guide oncologic therapy in the future as well as a commitment to precision medicine initiatives.

The division has eight major programs that work together to bring unique molecules, diagnostic tests, and therapeutic interventions from the laboratory bench to the patient bedside: The Biometric Research Program, The Cancer Diagnosis Program, The Cancer Imaging Program, The Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, The Developmental Therapeutics Program, The Radiation Research Program, The Translational Research Program, and The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Additional information is available at http://dctd.cancer.gov

Division of Extramural Activities

The Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) was established to provide NCI and the scientific community with expert scientific review of the merits of extramural research, procedures, and policies to help the Institute achieve its goal. DEA coordinates NCI's extramural initiatives by guiding funding, providing scientific peer review and oversight, coordinating advisory committees, establishing policies and procedures, managing extramural staff training and career development, and coding and tracking NCI's research portfolio. DEA staff members serve as chief NCI liaisons to the extramural cancer research community, processing approximately 12,000 grant applications for referral and recruiting thousands of scientific experts to review approximately 3,000 grants per year. The DEA's Committee Management Office handles the complex preparation and logistics required for NCI's advisory groups to function productively and for the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society to act in its prescribed role.

Additional information is available at http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov.

Center for Cancer Genomics

NCI established the Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG) in 2011 to develop and apply genome science to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. CCG promotes collaborations of national and international agencies, academic researchers, and community physicians to foster research based on genomes, gene expression, proteomics, and other technologies to usher in a modern era of integrated and individualized prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, while ensuring responsible use of genetic information. Through research on the structure and function of the molecular make-up of human tumor cells and the human genome, researchers funded by CCG have identified many genes involved in cancer that are informing knowledge of biologic function, drug development, and DNA-based diagnostics.

CCG and the offices it oversees-The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Office of Cancer Genomics (OCG)-manage multiple programs. These offices serve to advance CCG's goal of ushering in a modern era of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention based on the study of genomes. Programs include: Genomic Data Commons, Cancer Driver Discovery Program, Cancer Genome Characterization Initiative, Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network, Human Cancer Models Initiative, and Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments.

Additional information is available at https://www.cancer.gov/ccg.

Center for Cancer Training

The Center for Cancer Training (CCT) is committed to catalyzing the development of a 21st century workforce capable of advancing cancer research through a scientifically integrated approach. CCT coordinates and provides research training and career development activities for NCI's laboratories, clinics, and other research groups. These cancer training and career development opportunities cover a broad spectrum of disciplines for individuals at career stages ranging from high school and graduate students to scientists, clinicians, and health care professionals. CCT is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing opportunities for support of cancer research training, career development, and education at institutions nationwide. CCT identifies workforce needs in cancer research and adapts NCI's training and career development programs and funding opportunities to address these needs. CCT creates new opportunities that enhance recruiting and retention, increase partnerships, and generate diversity awareness.

Additional information is available at http://www.cancer.gov/cct.

Center for Global Health

The Center for Global Health (CGH) was established in 2011 to help reduce the global burden of cancer. CGH develops initiatives and collaborates with other NCI divisions, NCI-designated cancer centers, and countries to support cancer control planning build capacity, and support cancer research and cancer research networks in low- and middle-income countries. CGH serves as the focal point for all global health activities within NCI by leading the development of global cancer research priorities, providing strategic vision to the global cancer community, and pursuing strategies directed towards control of cancer on a global scale.

CGH conducts and supports international cancer research, training, health information dissemination, and other relevant biomedical research programs. It coordinates collaborations and partnerships with other agencies and organizations engaged in efforts to improve global health. Research programs and initiatives include: Cancer Control Planning, Capacity Building, and Cancer Research and Research Networks.

Additional information is available at https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/organization/cgh.

Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives

The Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives (CSSI) focuses on creating and uniquely implementing exploratory programs focused on the development and integration of advanced technologies, trans-disciplinary approaches, infrastructures, and standards to accelerate the creation of publicly available, broadly accessible, multi-dimensional data, knowledge, and tools to empower the entire cancer research continuum for patient benefits. Since its inception, CSSI has undertaken a number of programs and initiatives that have contributed significantly to addressing major barriers and opportunities in cancer research. These initiatives are also designed to enable advances that can be translated to the clinic and substantially impact patient care.

CSSI programs build databases, knowledge, tools and extramural trans-disciplinary scientific teams to promote the themes of the center. Offices include: CSSI Office of the Director, Office of Cancer Clinical Proteomics Research, and Office of Cancer Nanotechnology Research

Additional information can be found at http://cssi.cancer.gov/.

Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities

NCI established the Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) in 2001 to help reduce the unequal burden of cancer in our society by leading NCI's efforts in workforce diversity by training students and investigators from diverse backgrounds. CRCHD strengthens NCI's cancer research portfolio to address cancer health disparities throughout NCI, builds regional networks to foster collaboration, enhances capacity in disparities research and career development, and disseminates culturally appropriate, evidence-based cancer information to underserved communities. The National Outreach Network (NON) seeks to strengthen NCI's ability to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate, evidence-based cancer information that is tailored to the specific needs and expectations of underserved communities, working through NON community health educators located at NCI-designated Cancer Centers.

CRCHD supports the following research programs: Community Networks Program Centers, Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity, Basic Cancer Research Program, Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences, and Geographical Management of Cancer Health Disparities Program.

More information is available at http://crchd.cancer.gov.

Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy

The Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy (OHAM) is responsible for broad oversight of HIV/AIDS and HIV malignancy research throughout NCI. OHAM coordinates and prioritizes NCI research in HIV/AIDS and HIV malignancy and also directly initiates and manages certain research programs. NCI has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS research since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and NCI scientists have made a number of critical research contributions.

NCI currently supports robust and varied research through OHAM's two main programs. The AIDS Malignancy Program identifies new initiatives for international activities, such as the initiative to Strengthen Capacity for HIV-Associated Malignancy Research in Africa, and oversees programs that NCI co-manages with other Institutes. The AIDS Cancer Clinical Program oversees clinical programs in OHAM, including the AIDS Malignancy Consortium and the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource.

More information is available at https://oham.cancer.gov.

Small Business Innovation Research Development Center

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs at NCI are managed by the SBIR Development Center. These programs are NCI's engine of innovation for developing and commercializing novel technologies and products to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. A range of funding opportunities is offered to the small business community. The center offers advice for applicants and fosters partnerships and collaborations between small businesses and third-party organizations. In addition, the center serves as a mentor to SBIR-funded companies regarding their technology development plans, and their regulatory and commercialization strategies, helping to accelerate the development of novel technologies and products. The primary goal of these efforts is to enhance the return on investment of the SBIR program for the benefit of the cancer community and public health in general. SBIR and STTR serve as two of the largest sources of early-stage technology financing in the United States.

More information is available at http://sbir.cancer.gov.

Office of Cancer Centers

The Office of Cancer Centers (OCC) program supports 72 NCI-designated Cancer Centers nationwide that are actively engaged in transdisciplinary research to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. These NCI-designated Cancer Centers are a major source of discovery of the nature of cancer and the development of more effective approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. They also deliver medical advances to patients and their families, educate health-care professionals and the public, and reach out to underserved populations. They are characterized by strong organizational capabilities, institutional commitment, and trans-disciplinary, cancer-focused science; experienced scientific and administrative leadership, and state-of-the-art cancer research and patient care facilities.

NCI-designated Cancer Centers are funded through the P30 Cancer Center Support Grant. These awards fund formal research programs that foster interactions between basic laboratory, clinical, and population scientists; access for investigators to shared services and technologies that are necessary to their research efforts; and other scientific infrastructure.

Additional information can be found at http://cancercenters.cancer.gov.

Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., for NCI. The lab provides quick response capabilities and meets special long-term research and development needs for NCI. FFRDC also supports other Institutes of NIH and a wide range of research collaborations and partnerships with third parties, consistent with NCI's mission. Activities include building cross-disciplinary collaborations and teams, bridging the gap between late discovery and early development of diagnostics and therapeutics, developing cross-cutting technology platforms, and developing data standards. The overarching goal is to accelerate treatments for cancer and AIDS patients.

FNLCR has advanced technologies and innovative platforms that support NCI's mission, from basic research to translational and clinical studies. These include Cancer Model Development, Genetics and Genomics, Proteins and Proteomics, Clinical Assay Development, Nanotechnology Characterization, High-Performance Biomedical Computing, and Advanced Biomedical Imaging.

Additional information is available at http://frederick.cancer.gov.

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What's in a popular name?

Laws acquire popular names as they make their way through Congress. Sometimes these names say something about the substance of the law (as with the '2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act'). Sometimes they are a way of recognizing or honoring the sponsor or creator of a particular law (as with the 'Taft-Hartley Act'). And sometimes they are meant to garner political support for a law by giving it a catchy name (as with the 'USA Patriot Act' or the 'Take Pride in America Act') or by invoking public outrage or sympathy (as with any number of laws named for victims of crimes). History books, newspapers, and other sources use the popular name to refer to these laws. Why can't these popular names easily be found in the US Code?

How the US Code is built.

The United States Code is meant to be an organized, logical compilation of the laws passed by Congress. At its top level, it divides the world of legislation into fifty topically-organized Titles, and each Title is further subdivided into any number of logical subtopics. In theory, any law -- or individual provisions within any law -- passed by Congress should be classifiable into one or more slots in the framework of the Code. On the other hand, legislation often contains bundles of topically unrelated provisions that collectively respond to a particular public need or problem. A farm bill, for instance, might contain provisions that affect the tax status of farmers, their management of land or treatment of the environment, a system of price limits or supports, and so on. Each of these individual provisions would, logically, belong in a different place in the Code. (Of course, this isn't always the case; some legislation deals with a fairly narrow range of related concerns.)

The process of incorporating a newly-passed piece of legislation into the Code is known as "classification" -- essentially a process of deciding where in the logical organization of the Code the various parts of the particular law belong. Sometimes classification is easy; the law could be written with the Code in mind, and might specifically amend, extend, or repeal particular chunks of the existing Code, making it no great challenge to figure out how to classify its various parts. And as we said before, a particular law might be narrow in focus, making it both simple and sensible to move it wholesale into a particular slot in the Code. But this is not normally the case, and often different provisions of the law will logically belong in different, scattered locations in the Code. As a result, often the law will not be found in one place neatly identified by its popular name. Nor will a full-text search of the Code necessarily reveal where all the pieces have been scattered. Instead, those who classify laws into the Code typically leave a note explaining how a particular law has been classified into the Code. It is usually found in the Note section attached to a relevant section of the Code, usually under a paragraph identified as the "Short Title".

How the LII Table of Popular Names works.

Our Table of Popular Names is organized alphabetically by popular name. You'll find three types of link associated with each popular name (though each law may not have all three types). One, a reference to a Public Law number, is a link to the bill as it was originally passed by Congress, and will take you to the LRC THOMAS legislative system, or GPO FDSYS site. So-called "Short Title" links, and links to particular sections of the Code, will lead you to a textual roadmap (the section notes) describing how the particular law was incorporated into the Code. Finally, acts may be referred to by a different name, or may have been renamed, the links will take you to the appropriate listing in the table.

National Venereal Disease Prevention and Control Act

Pub. L. 92-449, title II, Sept. 30, 1972, 86 Stat. 750

Short title, see 42 U.S.C. 201 note

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TOPN: National Venereal Disease Prevention and Control Act

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What's in a popular name? Laws acquire popular names as they make their way through Congress. Sometimes these names say something about the substance of the law (as with the '2002 Winter Olympic Commemorative Coin Act'). Sometimes they are a way of recognizing or honoring the sponsor or creator of a particular law (as with the 'Taft-Hartley Act').

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federal food,drug,and cosmetic act of 1938

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federal food,drug,and cosmetic act of 1938

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1906 Food and Drugs Act, which prohibited misbranded and adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce.
The tipping point came in 1937, when an untested pharmaceutical killed scores of patients, including many children, as soon as it went on the market.

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The first comprehensive federal consumer protection law was the 1906 Food and Drugs Act, which prohibited misbranded and adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce. Arguably the pinnacle of Progressive Era legislation, the act nevertheless had shortcomings—gaps in commodities it covered plus many products it left untouched—and many hazardous consumer items remained on the market legally.

The political will to effect a change came in the early 1930s, spurred on by growing national outrage over some egregious examples of consumer products that poisoned, maimed, and killed many people.

The tipping point came in 1937, when an untested pharmaceutical killed scores of patients, including many children, as soon as it went on the market. The enactment of the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act tightened controls over drugs and food, included new consumer protection against unlawful cosmetics and medical devices, and enhanced the government’s ability to enforce the law. This law, as amended, is still in force today.

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Preguntas generales sobre la Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos (FDA, por sus siglas en inglés)

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Office of the Commissioner

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How did the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act come about?

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The first comprehensive federal consumer protection law was the 1906 Food and Drugs Act, which prohibited misbranded and adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce. Arguably the pinnacle of Progressive Era legislation, the act nevertheless had shortcomings-gaps in commodities it covered plus…

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Works Progress Administration (WPA), also called (1939–43) Work Projects
In 1939 the Works Progress Administration altered its name to Work Projects Administration.
there was 8 years of extention people did have jobs 8.5 million people worked for a long time

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also called (1939-43):

Work Projects Administration

This article was most recently revised and updated by

Works Progress Administration (WPA), work program for the unemployed that was created in 1935 under U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Although critics called the WPA an extension of the dole or a device for creating a huge patronage army loyal to the Democratic Party, the stated purpose of the program was to provide useful work for millions of victims of the Great Depression and thus to preserve their skills and self-respect. The economy would in turn be stimulated by the increased purchasing power of the newly employed, whose wages under the program ranged from $15 to $90 per month.

During its eight-year existence, the WPA put some 8.5 million people to work (over 11 million were unemployed in 1934) at a cost to the federal government of approximately $11 billion. The agency's construction projects produced more than 650,000 miles (1,046,000 km) of roads; 125,000 public buildings; 75,000 bridges; 8,000 parks; and 800 airports. The Federal Arts Project, Federal Writers' Project, and Federal Theater Project-all under WPA aegis-employed thousands of artists, writers, and actors in such cultural programs as the creation of art work for public buildings, the documentation of local life, and the organization of community theatres; thousands of artists, architects, construction workers, and educators found work in American museums, which flourished during the Great Depression. The WPA also sponsored the National Youth Administration, which sought part-time jobs for young people.

In 1939 the Works Progress Administration altered its name to Work Projects Administration. In that year increasing charges of mismanagement and of abuse of the program by workers led to a reduction in appropriations, and a strike by construction workers against wage cuts was unsuccessful. In 1943, with the virtual elimination of unemployment by a wartime economy, the WPA was terminated.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Adam Augustyn.

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Works Progress Administration (WPA) | Definition & History

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Works Progress Administration, work program for the unemployed that was created in 1935 under U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The stated purpose of the program was to provide useful work for millions of victims of the Great Depression and thus to preserve their skills and self-respect.