Taking Medical Progress to the Polls
Primary elections will kick off next week in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas, with a steady stream of primaries thereafter. Our recently released national public opinion survey, in the field just last month, addresses research-relevant voter preferences. For example, nearly 9 in 10 Americans across the political spectrum say it is important for candidates to champion faster medical progress, and 7 in 10 say they would be more likely to support a candidate who favors increased spending on medical and health research.
In addition, 92% of Americans support basic scientific research, and nearly 7 in 10 say Congress should invest more taxpayer dollars to advance science and technology. I think it’s safe to say that Americans want their elected officials to grow our nation’s footprint in medical research and science and technology writ large. We’ll be working to make sure candidates for federal office are aware of these findings. Watch this space for tools you can use to share data like this in your own candidate engagement.
On the Hill: Congress is full steam ahead on the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) appropriations cycle. Many congressional offices are setting internal deadlines and are starting to shape their funding priorities for next year. To keep fellow advocates up to date, Research!America has compiled this tracker listing appropriations deadlines from each member of Congress. Find FY26 funding outcomes here.
ARPA-H Funding Sign-on Letter: An informal coalition of organizations is circulating a sign-on letterin support of a $200 million increase in the ARPA-H budget, in a manner that supplements, rather than supplants, other NIH funding. Organizations can sign on here. The deadline is March 6.
Last Call: There is only one more day to sign these letters:
- The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research is circulating a letter supporting a $4.1 billion increase for NIH in FY27 (excluding ARPA-H). Sign here.
- AcademyHealth is circulating a letter supporting a $155 million increase for AHRQ in FY27. Read and sign here.
Public Witness Testimony: House Appropriations subcommittees are beginning to collect written public witness testimony on FY27 funding priorities. The House “Labor-HHS” Subcommittee, which allocates funding to NIH, CDC, AHRQ, BARDA, ARPA-H, and other key agencies, is accepting written public witness testimony through Thursday, April 16. Submission instructions are available here.
The House “Agriculture” Subcommittee, which allocates funding to FDA, is accepting written testimony through Friday, May 1. Submission instructions are available here. BTW, I am using short-hand for the names and jurisdictions of these subcommittees: here is a quick refresher on the annual appropriations process that fills in the details.
Research!America’s written testimony primer provides background on these special opportunities for public input and tips for writing testimony.
In the News:
- The Boston Globe published my letter in response to an article detailing the curtailment of research grant funding and its effects in Massachusetts. As the letter points out, public sentiment clearly does not align with the contraction of U.S. science and technology.
- Ellie Dehoney was quoted in a Lancet article about the FY26 appropriations outcomes for NIH and CDC, which as you know were significantly higher than had been proposed in the president’s FY26 budget request. As Ellie cautioned, increased appropriations does not necessarily translate into timely funding: “Like all advocates, we need to stay vigilant to ensure that staff shortages, vacancies in the advisory councils that review grants, and other factors don’t delay or derail the grant-making process…”
The bottom line — advocates need to work on multiple fronts: raising awareness about public support for science; pushing for the appropriated dollars and policies needed to drive science forward; and ensuring that those dollars and policies are actually put to work to achieve needed progress.
Defeating Alzheimer’s Disease: With an estimated 7.2 million Americans facing Alzheimer’s, the race for a cure has never been more urgent. Join us on Thursday, March 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, for a breakfast briefing on Capitol Hill. The briefing will look at progress against Alzheimer’s disease and explore the urgent need for innovative partnerships and policies to overcome scientific and clinical challenges. Learn more and register here.
Two Weeks Away: Advocacy Awards: In just under two weeks’ time, we will host our 30th annual Advocacy Awards event at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Join us on Tuesday, March 10, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. ETto celebrate this year’s honorees and hear their thoughts on leadership and public engagement during two dynamic panel discussions. This is a free and very popular event, so please be sure to register here to reserve your spot today.
Member-only Alliance Discussion: Join us at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, March 5, for an alliance member-only meeting with Cheryl Jaeger and Brittany Hernandez of Crossroads Strategies. They will provide updates on FY27 appropriations, the HELP Committee’s FDA modernization effort, and key administration developments, followed by Q&A. If you are a Research!America member, please email Jacqueline Lagoy for the Zoom registration link.
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