We are deeply concerned that the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget does not reflect the public’s call for sustained and robust investments in cancer research. Instead, it threatens to reverse decades of progress.

On Friday, May 30, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its Fiscal Year 2026 Budget in Brief, which proposes drastic cuts to key federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the Budget in Brief, NIH’s program level would be slashed from $46.001 billion in FY2025 to $27.915 billion in FY2026, a reduction of more than $18 billion. The requested FY2026 funding for NCI is $4.531 billion, down from $7.224 billion in FY2025. In addition, the proposal calls for a significant restructuring of HHS—consolidating 19 institutes and centers into just eight, thus reducing top-level divisions from 28 to 15.

Notably, NCI is among the few institutes that would remain structurally intact under the proposed reorganization. However, the newest agency established under President Biden, ARPA-H would be moved to the Office of the Secretary, under the Assistant Secretary for a Healthy Future, with a funding cut from $1.5 billion to $945 million.

The proposal also calls for the elimination of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a move that would directly impact the National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR). The registry collects essential cancer incidence data, including lung cancer, across all 50 states and U.S. territories. Its removal would represent a major setback for cancer surveillance and prevention efforts.

Our concern is profound. The federal government is the largest funder of biomedical research, and no individual organization or private industry can fill the void that these draconian cuts would create.

Congress now holds the power to act. It is critical that our collective voices be raised to ensure lawmakers understand the consequences of this budget and restore essential funding. GO2 for Lung Cancer is actively collaborating with the broader community to urge Congress to reverse these cuts and protect funding for lung cancer research and vital public health programs.

Make your voice count. Take action today.