The ’21st Century Cures Act’ Just Created the Ministry of Cancer

Waking Times – by Dylan Charles

It appears the U.S. government is officially declaring war on cancer by launching a major bureaucratic initiative aimed at sending cancer research to the moon.

In a moment of suspiciously bi-partisan cooperation, both sides of the political aisle of the 114th United States Congress came together to pass House Resolution (H.R.) 34, the 21st Century Cures Act, which pledges a ton of taxpayer money to a broad range of disease and public health research programs, drug maker incentives, deregulation, and more.  

“The 21st Century Cures Act has been two years in the making and it was one of the most heavily lobbied pieces of legislation in recent history. It pays for cancer research, pays to fight the epidemic of opioid abuse, funds mental health treatment, helps the Food and Drug Administration to speed up drug approvals and pushes better use of technology in medicine.” [Source]

The New York Times calls this bill a ‘Sweeping Health Measure,’ as it is the most significant piece of health related legislation since Obamacare. The L.A. Times calls it, ‘a huge handout to the drug industry disguised as a pro-research bounty.‘ NBC News calls it, ‘one of the most heavily lobbied pieces of legislation in recent history,’ and PBS has declared it a big win for drug companies, medical device manufacturers, and the National Institutes of Health.

Others describe it as “a holiday win for much of the health sector.”

Some are also pointing out the fact that the 21st Century Cures actually permits medical testing of experimental drugs on individuals, fast tracks the approval of drugs that may be harmful, and creates a program of surveillance and mandatory mental health screening under the auspices of public safety.

But no news source is reporting this as a win for the average American, and rightfully so, because this bill, like all government legislation, takes taxpayer money and gives it away to industries and government agencies while creating more rules and regulations for ordinary people.

“This gift — which 1,300 lobbyists, mostly from pharmaceutical companies, helped sell — comes at the expense of patient safety by undermining requirements for ensuring safe and effective medications and medical devices.” [Source]

All this aside, H.R. 34 may most notably be cited as the bill that officially begins the government’s war on cancer, as it launches Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. The Moonshot is much more than an Orwellian name, it is an elaborate and well-marketed global program which creates, in effect, a publicly subsidized cancer industrial complex, investing billions of dollars in the future of cancer treatment.

What exactly is the Moonshot?

It is a government ‘task force’ which will include a number of agencies and representatives of the private sector, operating with the following aims:

• Accelerate our understanding of cancer and its prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure
• Improve patient access and care
• Support greater access to new research, data, and computational capabilities
• Encourage development of cancer treatments
• Identify and address any unnecessary regulatory barriers and consider ways to expedite administrative reforms
• Ensure optimal investment of federal resources
• Identify opportunities to develop public–private partnerships and increase coordination of the federal government’s efforts with the private sector, as appropriate

According to the website CancerMoonshot2020, the plan is to turn cancer into a manageable chronic condition, like diabetes, which creates lifelong, dedicated customers of the healthcare industry.

“Ultimately, the aim of the “moonshot” is to win the war on cancer — to get to a point in the very near future when we are managing cancer the same way we might manage any chronic disease, such as diabetes or asthma. When we can finally stop the toxic therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation that decimate the immune system, and instead, rally the full power of the immune system and the body’s natural killer cells to fight off the cancer the way they were designed to do, the patient is not only surviving the diagnosis, but living – even thriving – with cancer.”

Chemotherapy and radiation are dangerous, but, with this plan, government invests nothing in research and development of natural cures and treatments, nor gives any mention of ending the FDA’s practice of driving independent researchers and forward thinking doctors out of the country and out of business.

It also does not acknowledge the fact that prescription drugs and a for profit medical system are killing us.

In short, the moonshot will give a ton of taxpayer money to private companies to develop new, highly expensive treatment products and procedures while continuing to ignore natural alternatives and the root causes of cancer.

“In pursuit of this mission, President Obama established the Cancer Moonshot Task Force charged with leveraging federal investments, targeted incentives, private sector efforts, patient engagement initiatives, and more, to support cancer research and enable progress in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Never before have so many government agencies come together—committing their leadership and uniting their focus—to tackle the challenges along the spectrum of cancer research and care to improve outcomes for patients.” [Source]

A new, broad-scoped government cancer program – the Ministry of Cancer. MiniCan.

Newspeak for New Times

When the government declares war on something, that something is guaranteed to grow, increase and exacerbate. The war on drugs means more drugs. The war on terror means more terrorists. The war on poverty produces higher poverty rates.

In the contemporary vernacular, moonshot means to send something to the moon, or have it take off, explode in reach and scope and proportion. In this case, cancer will no doubt be shooting to the moon in the greatest explosion cancer has ever seen.

About the Author

Dylan Charles is a student and teacher of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, a practitioner of Yoga and Taoist arts, and an activist and idealist passionately engaged in the struggle for a more sustainable and just world for future generations. He is the editor of WakingTimes.com, the proprietor of OffgridOutpost.com, a grateful father and a man who seeks to enlighten others with the power of inspiring information and action. He may be contacted at wakingtimes@gmail.com.

This article (The ’21st Century Cures Act’ Just Created the Ministry of Cancer) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Dylan Charles and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.

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