President Biden Proposes to Reauthorize Cancer Moonshot in Budget Release

President Biden released his federal fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget Thursday, March 9, in which he requests Congress reauthorize the 21st Century Cures Act Cancer Moonshot, including more than $2.9 billion in funding for the Cancer Moonshot program, $1.45 billion in 2025 and 2026 to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Funding for the Cancer Moonshot program was also incorporated into proposed budgets for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indian Health Service, and Health Resources and Services Administration.

Included in the overall NIH increase, the president seeks a $500 million increase in funding for the NCI, including research towards prevention, diagnosis and treatment efforts, and approaches in cancer research, which rely on radiology and imaging tools.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), established in FY 2023, is proposed to be funded at $2.5 billion (a 66.7% or $1 billion increase over FY 2023). ARPA-H’s initial focus is on cancer and other diseases, such as diabetes and dementia. Opportunities or obstacles related to the Cancer Moonshot Initiative goals will be candidates for the new approach to transformational change offered by ARPA-H.

The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, of which American College of Radiology® (ACR®) is an active member, released a press statement regarding the president’s proposal, noting the lack of consistent increases among the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The budget proposal includes $48.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory resources for NIH — an increase of $920 million or 1.7%, above the FY 2023 enacted levels — but the Ad-Hoc Group is urging Congress to provide at least $51 billion for FY 2024 for NIH’s base program level, and that any additional funds for the ARPA-H supplement, rather than supplant, this core investment in NIH.

For more information, please contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.