On Monday, May 1, House and Senate appropriators released text of a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill agreement to fund the government through the end of September. The agreement provides $15 million in funding through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program – Neurofibromatosis Research Program (CDMRP-NFRP). This funding continues Congress’ long-standing support of medical research and will allow the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) to remain a leader in NF research. The bill, which must be passed before the evening of May 5 to avoid a government shutdown, is expected to be approved by both chambers of Congress and signed by the President.
Of note, the agreement contains $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), twice the amount requested by President Barack Obama and a 6.2 percent increase from current levels. This funding will be applied to the cancer moonshot initiative, which CTF President Annette Bakker has been involved with since its 2016 inception.
CTF is already advocating for the CDMRP in the FY 2018 funding process, which will now accelerate.
