Pentagon cancer research budget comes under scrutiny

Pentagon cancer research budget comes under scrutiny

As the Pentagon seeks to trim spending, there are some programs Congress believes the military can't do without. Among them: cancer research.

For almost 20 years, the Defense Department has been the recipient of more than $3.6 billion for cancer research. The programs have never been requested in any presidential budget, and are outside the Pentagon's traditional mission of battlefield medicine and research.

Nonetheless, lawmakers, prodded by grass-roots lobbyists, have annually added in the money as part of the appropriations process.

With Congress now debating a spending bill for the remainder of this fiscal year - and both parties calling for budgetary restraint - lawmakers have shown no inclination to curtail this spending. The Senate Appropriations Committee recently added $250 million to the fiscal 2011 Continuing Resolution for cancer research.