ACR® continues to advocate for funding increases for NIH and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in response to President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request. ACR is asking Congress to fund NIH at $51.3 billion, and ARPA-H at $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2027. The Trump plan would cut nearly $6 billion from NIH, a 12.3% decrease from current levels, bringing total NIH funding to $41.4 billion and proposes major changes to federal biomedical research.
ACR and coalition partners including the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research warn the president’s proposal could slow medical progress, weaken U.S. global leadership in biomedical research, and limit future research careers.
The budget proposal also calls for changes to specific NIH policies regarding research costs. It would cap indirect, or facilities and administrative, costs at 15% and require NIH to fully fund research grants upfront in 2027. ACR joined coalition efforts of the Joint Associations Group to offer an alternative solution to manage indirect costs and is working with the president’s Office of Management and Budget and Congress.
Several NIH institutes would also see changes. The proposal would increase funding for the National Cancer Institute by $9 million but cut $32 million from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. It would also eliminate some NIH centers and merge others, including creating a new institute focused on substance use research. The FDA would receive an increase of $232 million, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive a $475 million cut.
The Trump budget would provide ARPA-H an independent funding stream and fund it at $945 million, down from $1.5 billion last year. ARPA-H would focus on chronic disease, U.S. manufacturing, rural access and health technology leadership.
Congress will now begin work on spending bills. Lawmakers aim to finish the process by Sept. 30.
For more information, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.
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