President Obama's Weekly Address 10/29/16: Achieving the Mission of the Cancer Moonshot

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, Vice President Joe Biden discussed the progress of the White House Cancer Moonshot, an initiative with the goal to make a decade’s worth of advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, in five years. Recently, the Cancer Moonshot Task Force released a report that outlines what we need to do to achieve this goal, including: enhancing prevention efforts, expanding access to care, increasing collaboration and sharing data amongst cancer researchers, and building an international commitment to the fight against cancer. The report also highlighted the progress we’ve made since the launch of the Moonshot. Today, federal agencies are working together to share research – such as the National Institutes of Health using NASA’s research on radiation and its effects on the human body. In the past few months, more than 70 public and private sector commitments have been made to join the fight against cancer – such as IBM, which offered its supercomputer, Watson, to partner with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to help patients determine specific therapies they need for their cancer treatment. The Vice President said the Moonshot is about all of us doing our part in the fight against cancer. To learn how you can volunteer to help, visit Cancer.Serve.Gov, and to learn about clinical trials nearby, visit Trials.Cancer.Gov.

NJ Watchdog: Highway robbery? Bill seeks probe of state road costs

Why does New Jersey spend more on its highway system than any other state?

On the heels of reports by New Jersey Watchdog, a state senator is introducing legislation today to create a task force to address that question.

“When we’re spending two or three times more per mile than any other state, it’s extremely likely that significant savings can be found by the task force,” said Sen. Mike Doherty, R-Washington Twp., the bill’s sponsor.

New Jersey pays in excess of $2 million a mile per year – more than 12 times higher than the national average – to maintain 3,338 miles of state-administered roads, according to a Reason Foundation study.

State transportation commissioner Jamie Fox responded by calling the study “inaccurate and unfair.” However, Fox did not offer alternative figures, nor did he dispute that New Jersey has the costliest roads in the country.

“Some may quibble over how much more New Jersey spends on our highways than other states, but nobody disputes that we do spend more than everyone else,” said Doherty. “With New Jersey drivers already shouldering such a heavy tax and toll burden, it’s imperative that we find out why millions we spend on our roads get us so little in return.”

That weight will only get heavier if lawmakers pass a proposed 25 cents a gallon hike in the state gas tax. According to its proponents, the state must to raise $2 billion a year to fund its transportation projects.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/204570/new-jersey-highway-robbery/.