What’s at Risk
As federal funding decisions about the NIH take shape on Capitol Hill, the Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project (SCIMaP) gives a clear picture of what’s at risk. For example, if the president’s FY26 budget proposal for the NIH is adopted by Congress, North Carolina could lose out on $3 billion and 13,000 jobs, while $4.1 billion and 18,000 jobs are at stake in New York state. These cuts threaten not only current research and its beneficial impacts, but also our nation’s critically important STEM workforce.
Early career researchers are taking action. The New York Times (subscription required) recently reported that graduate students are publishing letters to the editor (LTEs) in their hometown news outlets about the importance and relevance of medical research in their communities. This excellent work is entirely in line with the recommendations we made last week about writing LTEs; in fact, it’s not coincidental! Science for Good — co-led by two of our own civic science awardees — is mobilizing voices and gaining momentum.
You might utilize the newly launched Population Health Information and Visualization Exchange (PopHIVE) to access state or local data for use in your outreach. PopHIVE is an online tool from the Yale School of Public Health that allows visitors to explore and act on public health trends. Look through PopHIVE’s dashboards here. It’s a gem!
Now is the time for advocates to use tools like SCIMaP, PopHIVE, and Research!America’s letter to the editor how-to resource. Make your outreach personal; storytelling and anecdotes drive policymaking.
On the Hill: The FY26 funding process is moving slowly; there have been delays in planned “markups” (hearings for the consideration of legislation) in both chambers of Congress. While the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up their Labor-HHS bill during the week of July 21, that timeline is becoming increasingly ambitious.
Appropriations markups were expected to begin this week in the Senate, but the first three bills were delayed. The Senate Appropriations Committee hasn’t released a full schedule yet and still doesn’t have overall funding levels for all 12 spending bills. It is our understanding that the Labor-HHS and Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) bills will be marked up toward the end of the Senate appropriations process.
We can’t lose sight of other important policies that help turn research into real-world impact like the reauthorization of the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program, the Clinical Trial Modernization Act, and the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act. Despite strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, these bills have quietly stalled and they shouldn’t have! Congress must advance patient-focused policies because beating diseases like cancer requires unleashing the full power of American innovation.
NIH Grant Terminations: On Tuesday, the NIH issued a memo instructing staff to pause any additional grant terminations. Follow our updates and use our timeline of administration actions and terminated grants tracker to stay informed on policies impacting medical and health research.
CDC Nomination Update: Yesterday, the Senate HELP Committee held a nomination hearing for Dr. Susan Monarez to serve as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Monarez, previously deputy director of ARPA-H, received pointed questions about the critical and complex responsibilities she would assume as CDC Director.
The next step is for the Committee to vote on her nomination before it can advance to the full Senate for consideration. You can watch the hearing here and follow the status of key health and research leadership roles on our nominations tracker.
Gavi: HHS announced yesterday it will halt U.S. funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi, which received Research!America’s Rapid Translation Award in 2024, has helped vaccinate more than one billion children, preventing more than 18 million deaths. Research!America is urging the administration to reengage with Gavi leadership and reconsider this decision.
Member-Only Meeting: Join us on Tuesday, July 15, at noon ET for a Research!America Alliance member-only meeting via Zoom. Cheryl Jaeger of Crossroads Strategies will provide updates on the current policy landscape and federal budget processes. For Zoom registration, please email Jacqueline Lagoy. This meeting is not open to the press or organizations outside the Research!America alliance.
Nominate A Champion: Who will be our 2026 Research!America Advocacy Awardees? The Advocacy Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose commitment to advocacy for research and innovation has advanced medical, public health, and scientific progress in profoundly important ways. Take a look at the award descriptions and submit your nominations now. The deadline is Thursday, July 31, so don’t delay!
Losing an Advocate: The health and research community has lost a visionary leader with the death of Cass Wheeler. Cass was the CEO of the American Heart Association (AHA) from 1998 until he retired in 2008, and he never stopped being an influential advocate. He served as a member of Research!America’s Board of Directors, and I came to know him well as an extraordinary advocate for science and public health, as well as a kind and thoughtful leader. Our deepest condolences to his family and to our friends at AHA.