On July 24, Senator Katie Britt and 13 of her colleagues sent a letter to Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought requesting full implementation of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, including funds appropriated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This comes as the Senate Appropriations Committee is considering its FY 2026 spending plan for health-related agencies on Thursday, July 31.
Today, we’re asking you to contact your senators to ask them:
- to call on OMB to request that FY 2025 federal funding be released to NIH and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and
- to support higher funding levels for FY 2026 for NIH and NIA.
Britt and her colleagues note in the letter that the FY 2025 federal budget supports NIH initiatives across a range of critical research areas, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, rare pediatric disorders, and more. This funding also supports research at the NIA.
The letter highlights the senators’ concern with the slow disbursement rate of current FY 2025 NIH funds, noting the risks undermining critical research and the thousands of American jobs it supports. According to the letter, “[s]uspension of these appropriated funds — whether formally withheld or functionally delayed — could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science. It also risks inadvertently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results.”
Call Your Senators
We encourage you to take five minutes to call your senators’ offices using this GSA script to advocate for releasing of the FY 2025 funds, as well as support in funding for NIH and NIA, including asking appropriators to fund NIH at $51.3 billion and NIA at $4.75 billion for FY 2026. Encourage your senators to continue to support the lifesaving research that contributes to more meaningful lives for all Americans. We encourage you to make the call and share this information with colleagues, family, and neighbors. Dial 202-224-3121 and ask for your senators’ offices. Visit GSA’s website for more advocacy tips.