Research Funding and Policy Implications in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024

President Biden signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 2882) into law March 23, to fund the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services and their programs for the remainder of federal fiscal year (FY) 2024.

National Institutes of Health Funding

The act includes $47.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), $378 million (0.8%) below the FY 2023 enacted level, a direct result of a scheduled reduction in 21st Century Cures funding available to appropriators in FY 2024. The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) advocated in support of NIH increases.

NIH received $300 million in new funding that is reflected in increases to nine institutes and centers. The act also:

• Directs the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to create an Initiative for Improving Native American Cancer Outcomes to support efforts including research, education, outreach and clinical access related to cancer in Native American populations to improve their screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
• Encourages the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to support the development of novel technologies to discover the earliest biological events leading to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
• Directs the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Cures Acceleration Network to reduce barriers between research discovery and clinical trials.
• Directs the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is to continue research into the causation of and risk factors for valvular heart disease, focusing on the use of advanced technological imaging and other relevant methods to generate data related to valvular heart disease and assessing potential risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest.

ARPA-H Funding

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) received $1.5 billion in funding, the same level as provided in FY 2023. The legislation urges ARPA-H to consider funding research on rare cancers that have low survival rates and little advancement in therapeutics.

Another provision of the act supported by ACR is an extension of Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings (PALS)-type language to ensure access to coverage for annual screening mammography for women 40 and older with no deductibles or copays.

President Biden recently released his FY 2025 budget proposal, in which he requests Congress increase funding for NIH and $716 million in discretionary funds for NCI. Funding for the Cancer Moonshot program was also incorporated into the proposed budget. ACR has begun advocacy efforts for an increase in NIH funding for FY 2025, asking Congress to provide $53.1 billion to NIH.

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