crs_reports: IF10349

Congressional Research Service reports with summaries, authors, and topic classifications.

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IF10349 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding for FY2026 2026-03-04T05:00:00Z 2026-03-06T15:07:55Z Active Resources Bryce H. P. Mendez, Bryce H. P. Mendez Military Personnel, Compensation & Health Care, Veterans & Military Health Care, Defense Appropriations, Defense Budgets & Appropriations Members of Congress are frequently lobbied to add funding to annual defense appropriation legislation for certain medical research programs on a wide variety of diseases and topics. In addressing annual appropriations bills, Members frequently seek information on enacted levels for such funding under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). CDMRP Administration and Funding The CDMRP is a Department of Defense (DOD), which is “using a secondary Department of War designation” under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025, program that receives congressional appropriations explicitly for biomedical research in specific, congressionally identified health matters. As such, it has not been part of the President’s budget request for DOD. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), with oversight from the Defense Health Agency, administers the CDMRP and is responsible for awarding and managing competitive grants. Congress typically inserts CDMRP funding as Undistributed Medical Research in the Defense Health Program’s Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (DHP RDT&E) account in the annual DOD appropriation. Congressional documents accompanying the annual defense appropriation act (i.e., conference report or explanatory statement) typically identify the specific research areas for a given fiscal year. Division A, Title VI, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75), inserted $1.27 billion into the RDT&E account for CDMRP. This amount comprises 51% of the overall DHP RDT&E, as reflected in Figure 1. Biomedical research conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or other military research agencies is not included in this account. Table 1 lists the FY2026 CDMRP funding amounts for specific medical research areas. CDMRP Funding Requests Members may request funding for medical research during the annual defense appropriations process. The appropriations committees typically send Members a memorandum with instructions for submitting requests. Both House and Senate committee reports may specify funding associated with certain research. An exchange of amendments between the houses (or a conference committee) typically resolves any differences between the committee reports. The medical research programs funded under the CDMRP are not static. Funding may be provided for conditions not funded in previous years. For example, funding for tick-borne disease research was provided in FY2016-FY2020, but no associated funds were provided in FY2015. Figure 1. Total DHP RDT&E Appropriation, FY2026 / Source: CRS analysis of Division A, Title VI, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75). Program Announcements and Awards USAMRDC issues periodic program announcements to alert researchers of CDMRP grant opportunities. The program announcements include detailed descriptions of funding mechanisms, evaluation criteria, submission requirements, and deadlines. Program announcements are listed on the Grants.gov website. The CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.health.mil) also lists program announcements, information on awarded grants and other resources such as related publications, brochures about individual research programs, and annual reports. Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) funding supports grants for medical research on various cancers and related treatments. For FY2026, Congress appropriated $165 million for the PRCRP, separate from other CDMRP funding for breast, glioblastoma, kidney, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and rare cancers. Table 2 lists 20 cancers and treatments eligible for FY2026 PRCRP funding. Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program The program with the highest annual funding level under the CDMRP is generally the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). For FY2026, Congress appropriated $370 million for the PRMRP. PRMRP funding supports grants for medical research on a number of conditions or treatment modalities that are of “clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health.” Congress specifies an annual list of eligible conditions or treatments that typically includes a few changes from year to year as medical research priorities shift. Table 3 lists 52 conditions or treatments eligible for FY2026 PRMRP funding. Table 1. CDMRP Funding, FY2026 (in millions of dollars) Program Title FY2026 Alcohol and Substance Abuse Disorders $4.0 Alzheimer’s $15.0 Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis $40.0 Arthritis $10.0 Autism $8.0 Bone Marrow Failure $7.5 Breast Cancer $145.0 Combat Readiness-Medical $5.0 Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy $12.5 Epilepsy $12.0 Hearing Restoration $5.0 Joint Warfighter Medical $10.0 Kidney Cancer $15.0 Lung Cancer $20.0 Lupus $10.0 Melanoma $40.0 Military Burn $10.0 Multiple Sclerosis $15.0 Neurofibromatosis $25.0 Ovarian Cancer $50.0 Pancreatic Cancer $20.0 Parkinson’s $16.0 Peer-reviewed Cancer $165.0 Peer-reviewed Medical $370.0 Peer-reviewed Orthopedic $20.0 Prostate Cancer $75.0 Rare Cancers $17.5 Reconstructive Transplant $12.0 Spinal Cord $33.0 Tickborne Disease $7.0 Toxic Exposures $15.0 Traumatic Brain Injury/Psychological Health $40.5 Tuberous Sclerosis Complex $10.0 Vision $10.0 TOTAL $1,270.0 Source: Explanatory Statement (pp. H1569-H1570) accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75). Table 2. PRCRP-Eligible Cancer Topics, FY2026 Bladder Cancer Mesothelioma Blood Cancers Metastatic Cancers Brain Cancer Myeloma Colorectal Cancer Neuroblastoma Endometrial Cancer Neuroendocrine Tumors Esophageal Cancer Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers Germ Cell Cancers Pediatric Brain Tumors Glioblastoma Sarcoma Liver Cancer Stomach Cancer Lymphoma Thyroid Cancer Source: Explanatory Statement (p. H1571) accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75). Table 3. PRMRP-Eligible Conditions, FY2026 Angelman Syndrome Intranasal Ketamine Anesthetics Burn Pit Exposure Maternal Mental Health Celiac Disease Mitochondrial Disease Congenital Cytomegalovirus Musculoskeletal Health Dystonia Myotonic Dystrophy Eating Disorders Pancreatitis Eczema Peripheral Neuropathy Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Polycystic Kidney Disease Endometriosis Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Fibrous Dysplasia Prader-Willi Syndrome Food Allergies Proteomics Fragile X Pulmonary Fibrosis Frontotemporal Degeneration Respiratory Health Gambling Addiction Rett Syndrome Hepatitis B Sarcoidosis Hereditary and Acquired Ataxias Scleroderma Hermansky-Pudlack Syndrome Sickle Cell Disease Hydrocephalus Sleep Disorders Hypoxia Spinal Muscular Atrophy Hypertropic Dyschromia Suicide Prevention Inflammatory Bowel Disease Tuberculosis Interstitial Cystitis Von Hippel-Lindau Disease Accelerated Aging Processes Associated with Military Service Infertility Associated with Military Aviators/Aviation Personnel Brain Injury Impact on Cardiac Health Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) & Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS) Source: Explanatory Statement (p. H1571) accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75). https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF10349/IF10349.19.pdf https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/HTML/IF10349.html

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