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Federal Research Agencies

Federal funding is a critical input to our nation’s R&D pipeline. Funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and others is essential in addressing longstanding and emerging health threats.

Federal Funding for Research

AAAS Federal R&D Budget Dashboard: This interactive dashboard allows users to examine basic federal spending data by agency and/or by character of work over multiple decades in total dollars, as a share of the budget, and as a share of the U.S. economy.

 Learn more about these federal research agencies’ work (links to official websites).

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR)

 For more on investment in research, see:

U.S. Investments in Medical and Health Research and Development 2016–2020 Report A robust array of data (recent and historical) on U.S. R&D investment, with a particular focus on funding for health-related research and development.

Resources and Reports on R&D Spending

Understanding the Federal Budget

Federal research funding is crucial to our nation’s health and economy. Research supported by agencies like the NIH not only seed critical medical advancements but also create jobs, promote innovation, foster early career researchers, and ensure the continued safety and well-being of Americans. Efforts to cut the overall federal budget, however, frequently target research. This happens despite strong public support, making Research!America’s advocacy – and yours – crucial. Learn about the federal budget process.

Stay informed about the federal budget so you, too, can help make health and medical research a priority.

Blog

Making the Case for Research on Zoom: Report from a Successful Virtual Hill Day

How are research advocates making their case on Capitol Hill during COVID-19? 

 

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter

Building Back Better

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed 100,000 lives. If anything other

 

Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter

Public Sentiment

Researchers at Yale and George Mason University released a report this week reflecting

 

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Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter

Celebration and Inspiration

Wednesday’s 2024 Advocacy Awards celebration at the National Academy of Sciences brought together the breadth of the research & development ecosystem – very much including patients – to honor truly […]

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In the News

Health Care Brief

The Health and Human Services Department will hold a budget press conference this afternoon, and the health secretary will testify Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. The hearing offers an […]

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Setting Priorities

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Of Three Minds

Should we be appreciative, disappointed, determined? The answer is yes. You’ve heard this one before: two days before a partial government shutdown would ensue and nearly six months into Fiscal […]

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Science Without Walls

Last week at the AAAS annual meeting in Denver, AAAS President and Research!America Board Member Dr. Keith Yamamoto delivered a compelling opening plenary. In his address, he highlighted the meeting […]

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The Heart of the Matter

Valentine’s Day 2024 is behind us – Americans spent an estimated $26 billion celebrating this holiday, enough to fund the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for six years. […]

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America Speaks

Dear Research Advocate, The American public is firmly supportive of federal investment in research, as seen in findings from our annual survey, released today. A majority of Americans from across […]

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A Call to Action

Dear Research Advocate, Today marks the first day of Black History Month, a time to celebrate remarkable trailblazers such as Dr. Alexa Canady, the first African American woman to become […]

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Meeting the Moment

Dear Research Advocate, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli assumed her position as the 17th Director of the NIH on Nov. 9th. In honor of her appointment, Research!America, the American Cancer Society Cancer […]

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The Budget Roller Coaster

Dear Research Advocate, This week, House and Senate leaders proposed a bipartisan tax deal that among its many provisions, includes important refinements to the treatment of research and development investment. […]

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Events

Alliance Member-Only Meeting with Emily Holubowich, National Senior Vice President of Federal Advocacy with the American Heart Association

Emily Holubowich, National Senior Vice President of Federal Advocacy with the American Heart Association and a national expert on federal health and fiscal policy, joined us for an alliance member-only […]

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Eye-Popping Statistics

This year, Americans will spend nearly $12.2 billion celebrating Halloween, exceeding last year’s record by nearly $2 billion. Make no bones about it (get it?!), this is more than the […]

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Blog

Alliance Discussion with Dr. Heidi Olsen and Dr. Bri Sheppard: Bridging the Gap—Understanding What Drives Rural Health Disparities

In our recent alliance discussion about rural health disparities, we hear from two experts in the field, Dr. Heidi Olsen and Dr. Bri Sheppard. "Research is critical to understanding not just what rural health disparities

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Setting Silence Aside

Having witnessed the setbacks and eventual triumphs of leaders in research and research advocacy for many years, I know that receiving thunderous applause is typically low-to-nowhere on the list of […]

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America Needs Cures, Not Cuts

Women’s Health: The National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) annual meeting this week featured women’s health topics, “From Cells to Society.” President Biden’s nominee for NIH Director, Monica Bertagnolli, MD (whose […]

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What Would Lincoln Do?

Differ We Must: I often quote Abraham Lincoln, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.”  In his new book on Lincoln, “Differ […]

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What’s At Stake

Do you have 45 minutes? Watch, or rewatch, the alliance discussion we held today with Mitch Prinstein, PhD, Chief Science Officer at the American Psychological Association. We asked Mitch to […]

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Advocacy Happened in August

Advocacy works! A priority for research advocates gained traction this week: Senator Elizabeth Warren agreed to support the nomination of Monica Bertagnolli, MD, President Biden’s nominee as Director of the […]

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Silence and Shutdowns

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” I’m reminded of these words spoken by the incomparable Martin Luther King Jr. as we approach […]

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At Odds

For the first time in 20 years, locally-acquired cases of malaria (in contrast to cases acquired by travel to malaria-prone areas) have been recorded in the U.S. – one case […]

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“The Power of One”

“Embracing diversity, equity and inclusion in all we do” is a central tenet of Research!America’s work. The diversity of our nation is one of its greatest strengths. If we want […]

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Mary Woolley's Weekly Letter

Invest in the NIH

On the Hill: The political tectonic plates underpinning the appropriations process are moving in unpredictable ways. With House appropriations markups resuming this week, a segment of the House majority is […]

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Fast and Furious

On the Hill: The President signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act last Saturday, raising the debt ceiling and re-starting the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriations process. Congress has until September 30 […]

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The $130 Billion Mistake

This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that unless Congress raises or suspends the debt ceiling, the country could be forced to default on its debts by June 1. […]

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Alarm Bells Are Ringing

No, ChatGPT-4 didn’t write this letter, but maybe that’s in our future! I don’t know about you, but every time I think I’ve got a handle on what artificial intelligence […]

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Big Ideas Bring Better Health

Join us in celebrating National Public Health Week, April 3–9. This year’s theme is “Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health”; read the welcome letter from Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director […]

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Go Bold

Dear Research Advocate, From 2001–2021, nearly 630,000 people in the U.S. lost their lives to an opioid overdose. If the losses in 2022 and the first few months of 2023 […]

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Dazzled!

Dear Research Advocate, Everyone who joined us for the 2023 Advocacy Awards was dazzled by our honorees, who participated in deftly moderated panel conversations about urgent priorities – overcoming resistance […]

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Optimism?

Dear Research Advocate, I’ve thought long and hard about how to begin this letter. Our nation and the global community are still fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy continues to […]

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Advocacy Works!

Dear Research Advocate, It’s a quiet week on Capitol Hill – an ideal time to use this editable email to thank your members of Congress for passing the omnibus spending […]

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Let’s Talk

Dear Research Advocate, The film Don’t Look Up captured what might happen if scientists, journalists, and politicians all fail to communicate effectively with one another – or with the public […]

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The Countdown is On

Our late board chair, esteemed congressman John Porter, cited his father’s polio as the genesis of his lifelong commitment to elevating the priority of research. Concerns regarding the widely reported re-emergence of polio in New

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Point to the Victories

On Tuesday, Research!America sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar asking him to clarify the decision to end NIH grant funding for an ongoing, EcoHealth Alliance research initiative focused on pandemic preparedness. We urge

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Now is the time

“Hopefully, the urgency that everyone is seeing around COVID-19 will translate into bigger investments for global health vaccines.” 

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