Community Letter on NIH Appropriations for FY 2026

THE AD HOC GROUP FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chair Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Collins, and Vice Chair Murray: As Congress resumes its work on the annual spending bills, the 455 undersigned members of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, representing patients, clinicians, scientists, educators, academic and research organizations, and industry, write to thank you for your longstanding, bipartisan commitment to predictable and sustained growth in medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and urge you to finalize the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) spending bill with a robust investment in the NIH. Specifically, we urge you to provide no less than the Senate Appropriations Committee-approved level of $47.2 billion for NIH, in addition to funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). We are grateful that the spending bills passed by both the House (H.R. 5304) and Senate (S. 2587) Appropriations Committees would provide NIH with much needed increases over the previous year. In particular, the funding level in the Senate bill would offer an even greater opportunity to expand NIH’s capacity to fund more promising research, provide support for the next generation of researchers, and allow the agency to address other critical needs. Additionally, the Senate bill would preserve the nation’s research infrastructure, avoid policy provisions that could hamper research, and prevent further dramatic decreases in the number of awardees that are the result of frontloading awards. To ensure that funding supports the work of NIH effectively, it is imperative that Congress finalize the NIH funding level as quickly as possible; the bipartisan approach in S. 2587 both helps achieve that goal and upholds key attributes essential to the NIH’s success. As the world’s premier public funder of medical research, the NIH plays an important role in our nation’s international leadership, and robust annual funding growth for NIH is key to improving people’s health. NIH-funded research in every state and nearly every congressional district leads to medical breakthroughs that benefit patients nationwide, advancing potential cures, treatments, and preventive strategies addressing cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, diabetes, Parkinson’s, chronic health conditions, autoimmune diseases, and the full range of other conditions that affect patients, families, and communities. In addition to providing hope for patients and families across the country, robust support for NIH-funded research bolsters national security, strengthens the research workforce, and leads to increased local and regional economic output. For these reasons, in March, over 500 organizations across the NIH stakeholder community united to urge lawmakers to support meaningful growth for the agency in FY 2026 with at least $51.3 billion for NIH. Although we acknowledge the context of a constrained discretionary spending environment and its impact on funding conversations, we cannot overstate the importance of maintaining and building upon support for medical research. Our community is grateful that a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers exercised Congress’s oversight responsibility in ensuring that appropriated funds would be obligated as intended in FY 2025 and that the FY 2026 spending bills in both chambers recognize the NIH as an urgent national priority. The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research urges you to continue that bipartisan commitment in the final FY 2026 spending bill, adopting the approach in S. 2587 and providing at least $47.2 billion for NIH, in addition to funding for ARPA-H. Thank you again for your leadership and prioritization of the work that brings hope to patients and their families.

Sincerely,

455 of Signatories as of 10/27/2025

Academic Pediatric Association

Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research

Accessia Health

ACT for NIH

AdvaMed

Advocates for Collaborative Education

Akari Foundation

AliveandKick’n

Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM)

Alliance for Aging Research

Alliance for Patient Access

Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM)

Alliance to Solve PANS & Immune-Related Encephalopathies (ASPIRE)

Alpha-1 Foundation

Alport Syndrome Foundation

Alzheimer’s Association

Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, Inc.

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America

Alzheimer’s Impact Movement

Alzheimer’s Los Angeles

Alzheimer’s Orange County

Alzheimer’s San Diego

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

American Academy of Neurology

American Academy of Nursing

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

American Academy of Sleep Medicine

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)

American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research

American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry

American Association for Respiratory Care

American Association for the Advancement of Science

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training

American Association of Neurological Surgeons

American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine

American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges

American Brain Coalition

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)

American College of Academic Addiction Medicine

American College of Cardiology

American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics

American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American College of Osteopathic Internists

American College of Physicians

American College of Radiology

American College of Rheumatology

American College of Surgeons

American Diabetes Association

American Federation for Aging Research

American Gastroenterological Association

American Geriatrics Society

American Heart Association

American Industrial Hygiene Association

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine

American Liver Foundation

American Lung Association

American Massage Therapy Association

American Neurological Association

American Nurses Association

American Pediatric Society (APS)

American Physiological Society

American Psychological Association Services

American Roentgen Ray Society

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

American Society for Cell Biology

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

American Society for Investigative Pathology

American Society for Microbiology

American Society for Nutrition

American Society for Radiation Oncology

American Society for Reproductive Medicine

American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP)

American Society of Echocardiography

American Society of Hematology

American Society of Human Genetics

American Society of Nephrology

American Society of Pediatric Nephrology

American Society of Transplant Surgeons

American Society of Transplantation

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

American Society on Aging

American Statistical Association

American Surgical Association

American Thoracic Society

American Urological Association (AUA)

Angelman Syndrome Foundation

Arachnoiditis and Chronic Meningitis Collaborative Research Network (ACMCRN)

ARPKD/CHF Alliance

Arthritis Foundation

Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization

Associated Medical Schools of New York

Association for Academic Pathology (AAPath)

Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Association for Psychological Science

Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB)

Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine

Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries

Association of Academic Leaders of Neurology (Formerly the Association of University

Professors of Neurology)

Association of Academic Physiatrists

Association of Academic Radiology

Association of American Cancer Institutes

Association of American Medical Colleges

Association of American Universities

Association of Departments of Family Medicine

Association of Independent Research Institutes

Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs

Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs

Association of Minority Health Professions Schools

Association of Population Centers

Association of Professors of Dermatology

Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics

Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers

Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry

Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Augusta University

Autism Science Foundation

Autism Speaks

AVAC

BDSRA Foundation

Benaroya Research Institute

Benjamin Rose

Beth Israel Lahey Health

Biophysical Society

Boston Biotech Forum

Boston Children’s Hospital

Boston Medical Center Health System

Boston University

Brain Inflammation Collaborative

Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF)

BrightFocus Foundation

Broad Institute

California Psychological Association

Canavan Foundation

Cancer and Careers

Cancer Nation (formerly the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship)

Caregiver Action Network

CaringKind, The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Cedars-Sinai

Celiac Disease Foundation

Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of Elders (CARIE)

Center for Endometriosis Care

Center to Advance Palliative Care

Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Children’s Hospital Association

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation

Chronic Disease Coalition

City University of New York School of Medicine

Coalition for Clinical and Translational Science

Coalition of Skin Diseases

Coalition to Cure CHD2

College on Problems of Drug Dependence

Colorado Psychological Association

Columbia University

Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals

Congenital Hyperinsulinism International

Congress of Neurological Surgeons

Consortium of Social Science Associations

Cornell University

Council of Graduate Schools

Council on Social Work Education

COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation

CSNK2A1 Foundation

CUNY School of Medicine

Cure Alzheimer’s Fund

CURE Epilepsy

CURE GABA-A

Cure MAPT FTD

CURE SYNGAP1 fka SynGAP Research Fund, 501(c)(3)

Cure VCP Disease

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Danny Did Epilepsy Foundation

Dartmouth Health

Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies Project (DEE-P Connections)

Digestive Disease National Coalition

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Dravet Syndrome Foundation

Duke Health

Duke University

Dup15q Alliance

Dysautonomia International

Dystonia Medical Research Foundation

ECAN Esophageal Cancer Action Network

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Emory University

Endocrine Society

Entomological Society of America

Epilepsies Action Network (EAN)

Epilepsy Alliance America

Epilepsy Foundation of America

Epilepsy Foundation Texas

EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases

FamilieSCN2A Foundation

Family Caregiver Alliance, National Center on Caregiving

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)

Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS)

FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered

Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics

Foundation for Prader-Willi Research

Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research

Fox Chase Cancer Center – Temple Health

Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA)

Friends of NIAAA

Friends of NICHD

Friends of NIDA

Friends of NIMH

Gaucher Community Alliance

GE HealthCare

Genetic Alliance

Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA)

Gerontological Society of America

Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC)

Global Liver Institute

Good Days

Harvard University

HealthyWomen

Heart Failure Society of America

Heart Rhythm Society/ Heart Rhythm Advocates

Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network

Hilarity for Charity

HIV Medicine Association

Hope Charities

Hope for HIE

Huntington’s Disease Society of America

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association

I AM ALS

IITC INC.

Infectious Diseases Society of America

International Bipolar Foundation

International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD)

International SCN8A Alliance

International Society for Stem Cell Research

Interstitial Cystitis Association of America

Johns Hopkins University

Kaiser Permanente

KCNQ2 Cure Alliance

Kentucky Psychological Association

Kids for Saving Earth

La Jolla Institute for Immunology

Lasker Foundation

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

LEAD Coalition (Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease)

Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) Foundation

Lewy Body Dementia Association

Lewy Body Dementia Resource Center

Loma Linda University Health

Long Term Care Community Coalition

Look. Foundation

Lorenzo’s House

Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc.

Lupus Foundation of America

Lymphatic Education & Research Network

Lymphoma Research Foundation

M-CM Network

Maine Psychological Association

Malan Syndrome Foundation

March of Dimes

Marymount University

Mass General Brigham

Medical College of Wisconsin

Medical Library Association

Memorial Sloan Kettering

Men’s Health Network

METAvivor

Minnesota Psychological Association

Mission MSA

Missouri Psychological Association

MitoAction

MLD Foundation

Moebius Syndrome Foundation

Mount Sinai Health System

Muscular Dystrophy Association

NAPCRG

National Alliance for Caregiving

National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research

National Alliance on Mental Illness

National Alopecia Areata Foundation

National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR)

National Association of Activity Professionals

National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Agency Directors (NASADAD)

National Association of Veterans Research and Education Foundations (NAVREF)

National Council of Dementia Minds

National Down Syndrome Society

National Eczema Association

National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence

National Health Council National Kidney Foundation

National Neutropenia Network

National Respite Coalition

National Scleroderma Foundation

NDRI

Neurofibromatosis Midwest

Neurofibromatosis Network

New Hampshire Psychological Association

New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research

New York Genome Center

New York State Academic Dental Centers

NF Northeast

NORSE Institute

North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

North American Vascular Biology Organization

North Carolina Psychological Association

Northern California Institute for Research and Education, Inc., NCIRE

Northwest PANDAS/PANS Network (NWPPN)

Nutrition and Medical Foods Coalition

NW Association for Biomedical Research

NYU Langone Health

Oregon Health & Science University

Oregon Psychological Association

Organic Acidemia Association

Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN)

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

Patient-Led Research Collaborative Patients Rising

Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society

Pediatric Policy Council

Penn State College of Medicine

Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research

Periodic Paralysis Association

Personalized Medicine Coalition

PIRE: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation

PKD Foundation

Platelet Disorder Support Association

Population Association of America

Prevent Blindness

Project Sleep

Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation

Pulmonary Hypertension Association

PXE International

Quantitative Medical Imaging Coalition

Radiological Society of North America

Rare Epilepsy Network (REN) Coordinating Committee

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Association

Research!America

Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation

Rhode Island Psychological Association

Rush University System for Health

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Safe Kids Worldwide

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute

Schinzel-Giedion Syndrome Foundation

Second Wind Dreams, Inc.

Sjogren’s Foundation

Sleep Research Society

Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention

Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM)

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Society for Neuroscience

Society for Pediatric Radiology

Society for Pediatric Research (SPR)

Society for Vascular Surgery

Society for Women’s Health Research

Society of Abdominal Radiology

Society of General Internal Medicine

Society of Gynecologic Oncology

Society of Interventional Radiology

Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

Society of Pediatric Psychology, Division 54 of the American Psychological Association

Society of Skeletal Radiology

Society of Teachers of Family Medicine

Society of Thoracic Radiology

Society of Toxicology

Stanford University

Stony Brook Medicine

Stupid Cancer

Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation

Susan G. Komen

Teaching Kitchen Collaborative

Temple University

Texas A&M University Health Science Center

Texas Biomedical Research Institute

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)

The Brain Donor Project

The George Washington University

The Illinois Psychological Association

The Judy Nicholson Kidney Cancer Foundation

The Life Raft Group

The Louisa Adelynn Johnson Fund for Complex Disease

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

The RYR-1 Foundation

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

The Sturge-Weber Foundation

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB)

Triage Cancer

TSC Alliance

Tufts Medicine

Tulane University

Turner Syndrome Society of the United States

UCLA

UMass Chan Medical School

Unite 2 Fight Paralysis

University at Buffalo

University of California System

University of California, San Francisco

University of Cincinnati

University of Colorado

University of Colorado Anschutz

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Colorado Springs

University of Colorado Denver

University of Iowa

University of Kansas Medical Center

University of Maryland, Baltimore

University of Minnesota Medical School

University of Oregon

University of Pennsylvania

University of Pittsburgh

University of Rochester

University of Utah Health

University of Virginia

US Hereditary Angioedema Association

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s

USF Health Morsani College of Medicine

Usher 1F Collaborative

Usher Syndrome Coalition

Usher Syndrome Society

UTRGV School of Medicine

UVA Health

v-ATPase Alliance

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

VentureWell

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Tech

wAIHA Warriors

Washington State University

Washington University in St. Louis

West Virginia University

Wilson Disease Association

Withka Psychological & Consulting Services

World Molecular Imaging Society

Yale University

ZERO Prostate Cancer

cc: The Honorable Robert Aderholt

The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin