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NIH Congressional Hearing Addresses Grant Delays
March 19, 2026
This week the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) held an oversight hearing regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) demonstrating active bipartisan support for the institute while expressing concern about slow grant distribution. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), chair of the subcommittee, said the U.S. is the world leader in biomedical science, thanks to NIH-funded research, and that Congress increased NIH’s budget by $415 million for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026.
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, appeared before the subcommittee covering topics and answering questions about NIH grant distributions, support of women’s health research, opportunities for early-career researchers, oversight of foreign research collaborations, and artificial intelligence (AI) in biomedical research.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) shared that the Office of Management and Budget released NIH’s funding apportionments only the night before the hearing. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) questioned the pace of NIH releasing its funds, stating that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to date only awarded $2.6 million of its $7.4 billion research grant allocation to date. Any potential funding delays could impact biomedical innovation and progress, including in radiology and imaging.
Bhattacharya said NCI is on track to spend its budget and new grants are being distributed. The director also addressed current reforms, including a unified funding strategy, plans to strengthen research reproducibility, and efforts to spread funding more evenly across states.
ACR® continues to advocate for increased funding to NIH, asking Congress for $51.3 billion in FY 2027. Research funded by NIH leads to medical breakthroughs, including radiology, that advance patient care, including early detection, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
For questions, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.
