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Committee member asks VA to clarify use of $5,000,000 congressionally directed for prostate precision oncology
Summary
During a committee hearing, a committee member asked a VA official whether Congress’s $5,000,000 FY24 appropriation for expanding a prostate precision-oncology program (referred to in the transcript as “PopCap”) was spent for that purpose or redirected into broader precision-oncology research; a VA official said the funds were used for research and described the rollout approach.
A committee member asked a VA official on the record to clarify whether a $5,000,000 appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2024 consolidated appropriations act intended to expand a prostate cancer precision-oncology program (referred to in the hearing as the “PopCap” program) had been used for that purpose or redirected into a broader precision-oncology research effort.
The committee member asked, “Can you please clarify the VA's view on the PopCap program and how VA is ensuring the original congressional intent behind the funding, has been followed?” The question referenced a proposal to designate the Little Rock VA Medical Center as a center of excellence and noted prior language in the Prostate Authorization Act.
A VA official replied that they could not comment directly on legislation but described how VA interpreted assignments from an act passed in 2022 and used enterprise-wide research and clinical networks to carry out precision-oncology work. The official said, “So the so that money was used … the $5,000,000 was for research,” and added that clinical funds supported operations while the appropriation in question was directed to research.
The official said VA sought to follow congressional intent by leveraging existing networks and programs to scale capacity and testing, and by using the Cancer Clinical and Research Network (CCRN) to increase the number of participating sites beyond the initial centers identified with the Prostate Cancer Foundation. The committee member responded, “Very good,” and the hearing moved on.
No formal vote or binding decision about the use of the funds was recorded in this exchange; the transcript records the committee member asking for clarification and the VA official describing how the research funds were applied.
