Letter Supporting Timely FY 2027 NIH Appropriations

Dear Speaker Johnson, Democratic Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Thune, Democratic Leader Schumer, Chair Cole, Ranking Member DeLauro, Chair Collins, and Vice Chair Murray:

The 394 undersigned organizations representing patients, scientists, health professionals, academic and research institutions, educators, and industry that support funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), write to thank you for your leadership in support of medical research and to urge you to work together to finalize (FY) 2027 appropriations for NIH as expeditiously as possible.

We are grateful that Congress and the President approved a short-term continuing resolution to ensure uninterrupted government funding, and we urge Congress to continue its bipartisan collaboration to finalize FY 2027 appropriations quickly to avoid the delays and bottlenecks in funding that we have seen in previous fiscal years. We strongly encourage you to prioritize an approach that completes the appropriations process before the end of the calendar year.

Timely funding decisions are vital to the NIH’s operations, the scientists and research institutions NIH supports, and the patients who depend on continued scientific progress. Delayed appropriations create uncertainty about funding levels and hinder NIH’s ability to award grants in a timely and optimally strategic manner. Medical research operates on carefully coordinated timelines, and unpredictable funding can postpone the purchase of specialized equipment and supplies, delay the launch of clinical studies and fundamental discovery research, and create uncertainty for trainees, early-career investigators, and researchers. Research institutions often must make staffing and infrastructure decisions based on anticipated award dates, while patients awaiting enrollment in clinical trials may face delays in accessing promising new interventions. Even modest delays in awarding funding can slow the pace of scientific discovery and postpone the development of new diagnostics, treatments, and preventive strategies… (download attachment for full letter).