Call to Action: Urge Congress to Prioritize FY 2026 NIH Funding

The recently released President’s Budget Proposal for federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 includes significant cuts to biomedical research funding, impacting radiology research. The proposal includes a considerable reduction in funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which would hamper ongoing research within many of the NIH institutes and centers.

It is imperative that American College of Radiology® (ACR®) members connect with their representatives and express how a loss of funding would harm radiology research to the detriment of patients now, as Congress is working on the FY 2026 appropriations bills that fund the federal government.

As previously noted in ACR-submitted congressional testimony, the College asks for at least $51.3 billion for NIH in FY 2026. Robust funding supports radiology and imaging research, which includes a wide range of diagnostics, treatments and therapeutics that benefit patients and their families. Medical progress, which is dependent on this funding, could be severely affected and the development of groundbreaking diagnostics and therapies will be delayed, impacting patient outcomes. 

Join ACR peers in urging your representative to fund the NIH at the highest possible level and oppose the President’s Budget Proposal. 

ACR in its adequate funding advocacy also joined a coalition letter to House and Senate appropriations committee leadership expressing concern with the Trump administration’s draft FY 2026 budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The College also continues advocacy efforts in support of funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). ACR joined a letter  urging Congress to continue increased allocations to ARPA-H, stating that this agency be maintained as a distinct entity that is funded independently of other health-focused agencies.

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