Biomedical Research Funding Insufficient in President’s Budget Proposal
On April 3, the Trump Administration released the President’s Budget Request (PBR) for FY 2027. The proposal cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 12.3 percent, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) by 37%, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) by more than 50%. It also proposes to restructure or eliminate several of NIH’s Institutes and Centers (ICs), and requires all grants to be issued as multi-year, forward-funded awards. ASHG is deeply concerned that this proposal would be detrimental to the United States’ research enterprise.
These proposed reductions to biomedical research funding would cause job losses and lab closures nationwide, disrupt ongoing studies and clinical trials, and stall advances in diagnostics and treatments. As other nations rapidly increase investments in genomics and precision medicine, these cuts threaten to undermine the United States’ global leadership and push skilled scientists and trainees out of the research and clinical workforce, resulting in a permanent loss of talent. Robust, sustained federal investment in NIH, NSF, and other research agencies is essential to train the next generation of scientists, fuel innovation in biotechnology and healthcare, and deliver promising cures to millions of patients across the country living with rare or chronic diseases.
Last year, Congress invested in science and increased the NIH budget rather than enacting the Administration’s proposed steep cuts. We urge Congress to continue its strong bipartisan support for medical research in FY 2027 and to reject proposals that would significantly expand the use of multi‑year funding for new NIH grants. Each multi‑year award reduces the total number of grants NIH can fund each year and disproportionately harms early‑career scientists by reducing their opportunities to secure funding and establish independent research careers.
We encourage Congress to continue to oppose efforts to impose abrupt caps on Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs, which would significantly undermine the infrastructure that supports the biomedical research ecosystem. ASHG is also concerned about proposals to mandate a large-scale restructuring of NIH without sufficient input from the scientific community or appropriate Congressional oversight.
We remain committed to working with Congress and the broader biomedical research community to advance robust and sustained investment in NIH, NSF, and ARPA‑H, while also protecting merit-based peer review, supporting the research training pipeline, maintaining U.S. scientific competitiveness, and accelerating discoveries supported by federal funding, like the recent life‑saving CRISPR treatment developed for Baby KJ. We encourage Congress to continue its support in FY 2027 by appropriating $51.3 billion for NIH and $1.7 billion for ARPA-H.
Join us in advocating for strong FY 2027 research funding by reaching out to your Members of Congress through our Action Center.