White House Releases 2026 Federal Budget Request

President Trump released his federal fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget May 30, which requests funding proposals for government agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The request provides NIH with a total of nearly $27.5 billion in total discretionary budget authority, which characterizes an approximately $18 billion cut compared to FY 2025 enacted levels.

The request makes significant changes to NIH’s current structure, including condensing the current 27 NIH Institutes and Centers into eight. The proposal maintains the National Cancer Institute and moves the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering under a newly created National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

ARPA-H is proposed to be included in the newly formed Office of the Secretary: Assistant Secretary for a Healthy Future. The FY 2026 budget provides $945 million to ARPA-H, which was funded at $1.5 billion in FY 2025. The proposal lists five focus areas of ARPA-H to align with broader Trump administration goals. The five focus areas are: addressing chronic disease; America-made manufacturing and rural access; proactive approaches to healthy well-being; healthcare security, efficiency and transparency; and American leadership in frontier health technologies.

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) continues to advocate for increased funding levels in FY2026 for NIH and ARPA-H. The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, of which ACR is a member, released a press statement following the May 2 release of the initial budget materials, noting concern that the proposal would be detrimental to patient health and diminish the nation’s role as a global leader in biomedical research.

The president’s budget provides insight into priorities of the White House and is a key step in the appropriations process. The U.S. House and Senate are currently drafting their respective versions of the Labor Health and Human Services allocation for FY2026, which will then be negotiated on, aiming to be completed by Sept. 30, the fiscal year deadline.

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