Stewardship Report Volume 9 - Winter 2026

B

Advocacy

Letter-Writing Campaign

Policy Highlights • Upon hearing that Texas lawmakers were going to advance an anti-mRNA vaccine bill, the MRF sent a Texas pediatric melanoma survivor and current pre-medical student to the Texas State House to speak with lawmakers on the harms anti-mRNA bills inflict upon the cancer community. • In an effort to raise continued awareness around the importance of melanoma prevention and early detection, the MRF helped declare May as Melanoma Awareness Month in 9 different states, including Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota and Texas, as well as two proclamations on the city and county level. • The SAFE Sunscreen Standards Act was included in Over-the-Counter Monograph User Fee Act Reauthorization passed by Congress.

165 Advocates made 587 lawmaker contacts to preserve federal funding for the Melanoma Research Program and the CDC’s Skin Cancer Prevention Program.

From left to right: Jerome Ward, Senator Mark Kelly, Jack Kollings, Dee Conway and Todd Ring

Over-the-Counter Monograph User Fee Act (OMUFA) The MRF’s Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Kim Wezik, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee

on Health regarding the need for alignment with

international safety standards for sunscreen filter approvals, with our suggested solutions incorporated into the Over-the-Counter Monograph User Fee Act (OMUFA) Reauthorization that passed in December.

Advocates 165

Contacts 587

23 • Stewardship Report

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