AACR Congratulates President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris on Their Historic Election Victory

Members of the cancer research organization look forward to offering expertise and thought leadership to the new science-driven administration

PHILADELPHIA -- The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) congratulates President-elect Joe Biden for receiving more total votes than any presidential candidate in U.S. history, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris for becoming the first woman, first Black person, and first Asian American elected to the office of Vice President.

"This is a historic moment in our nation's history, and we welcome the recent messages of unity, collaboration, and cooperation from President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris. We also strongly support their stated interest in reasserting the value of research, trusting in science, and welcoming international talent to our great nation," said AACR President Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, FAACR, professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and director of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Tumor Immunology Program. "President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are exemplary public servants and visionary leaders who strongly recognize the unprecedented research opportunities that exist today, and they enthusiastically appreciate our nation's rapidly improving ability to translate these scientific advances into improved treatments for patients with cancer."

As the world's first and largest scientific organization committed to preventing and curing all cancers through innovative research, education, communication, and collaboration, the AACR and its 47,000 members are unified in their strong interest in working alongside President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, and Congress to accelerate the defeat of cancer.

The AACR looks forward to providing thought leadership to the Biden-Harris administration during the next four years on many of the scientific challenges currently facing our country. Regarding the most pressing issue - the COVID-19 health and economic crisis - AACR members, with their collective scientific and clinical knowledge, stand ready to assist in overcoming this pandemic. For example, cancer researchers are at the forefront of biomedical research in the development of molecular diagnostics and therapeutics, and there is an intersection of coronavirus biology and cancer biology that is manifesting clinical importance.

In his previous role as Vice President, President-elect Biden delivered inspiring remarks to attendees of the 2016 AACR Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Biden returned to the stage at the 2017 AACR Annual Meeting to urge policymakers and the cancer research community to maintain the momentum of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which he launched in 2016.

"The AACR has an enormous amount of admiration and respect for the President-elect. Cancer research has benefited greatly from his extraordinary leadership and commitment to the conquest of cancer," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. "President-elect Biden's personal dedication to reducing cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality, both as Vice President and later through the Biden Cancer Initiative, has supported research that has led to important advances for patients. We look forward to working closely with the new administration to ensure this life-saving progress continues for all who are touched by cancer."

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris both know firsthand the devastating effects of cancer. Biden's eldest son, Beau, died of glioblastoma in 2015, and Harris' mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, PhD -- a cancer researcher and AACR member -- died of colon cancer in 2009.

Rick Pollack, President and CEO, American Hospital Association

November 7, 2020 - This remarkable year has tested our nation, our economy, our health care system -- and most recently -- our sacred democratic form of government. Now, after Americans spoke out by ballot in record numbers, the media has reported that the election has been called for Joe Biden.

America's hospitals and health systems congratulate President-elect Biden and look forward to working with him and his incoming Administration to make progress on the important issues facing the health care field, and the patients and communities we serve.

We both share the same top priority: fighting the battle against COVID-19. As we continue on the front lines in this fight, we will work as partners to protect our patients and communities, as well as support our brave health care workers.

Our other priorities remain the same: advancing the transformation of health care, ensuring access to coverage, enhancing the quality of care and making health care more affordable.

Hospitals and health systems look forward to addressing the health care needs of our nation with the new Administration and Congress to help advance health in America.

Statement from Paul Gionfriddo, President and CEO of Mental Health America

Mental Health America congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden being elected the 46th President of the United States, along with his running mate, Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.

We look forward to working with them and the Biden Administration during the next four years on so many issues of common concern. President-Elect Biden has distinguished himself by his policy work in the past. This includes protections under the Affordable Care Act for coverage of pre-existing conditions and for Medicaid coverage for people with serious behavioral health conditions. It also includes fair coverage for mental health services under the Mental Health Parity Act, and laying the foundation for a more responsive mental health delivery system under the 21st Century Cures Act, to name a few.

More importantly, we deeply appreciate the tone President-Elect Biden set during the tense past days, weeks, and months.

He understands the impact the pandemic has had on our overall health including our mental health and the imperative that we act immediately to get this virus under control to save lives.

He also understands the deep impact systemic racism and bigotry have had on people in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, generations of immigrant families, as well as people including those who identify as LGBTQ+ who have been marginalized so often in the past. He understands that it was past time to elevate women to positions of power and authority.

And he and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris have demonstrated they are antiracists in their hearts-- and in their words. We welcome this as the next step on our nation's journey toward being a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive society.

We also appreciate and cannot overstate President-Elect Biden's empathy. He understands how trauma, grief and loss affect so many of us because he has lived these in the past and has been so open about talking about how these have affected him. Showing that kind of vulnerability is often atypical for so many men, and in its special strength, it sets a needed example for our mental health. He relates to the experiences so many of us are facing during these dark times. And yet he lives with a sense of hope and joy for the future that can lift all our spirits.

During the next four years, MHA will continue to advocate for mental health for all for prevention, for early identification and intervention for those at risk, and for truly integrated services for all who need them, with recovery for all. Our efforts to get our society to act before mental health concerns become mental health crises as we say, Before Stage 4 will continue, beginning with children and continuing through all ages. We will continue to impress on health care delivery systems the value and expertise of those with lived experiences. We will not waiver from our commitment to ending the custodial incarceration of nonviolent people living with mental health conditions or the need for police and sheriffs to be called to address mental health emergencies when skilled mental health professionals should be the ones who respond.

The people of America have decided that it is time for a change. In the area of mental health, we agree. Ours is not and never has been a partisan issue. And so, we look forward to continuing to work with our friends on both sides of the aisle to increase funding and support for all people living with mental health conditions.

Frankly, we all need mental health support today more than ever. We are experiencing the most traumatic times of our lives. We pledge to work with President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris in making our nation and world a mentally healthier place for us all.