AACR Call to Action

The progress described in this report is measured in lives saved. Since 1991, the overall cancer death rate in the United States (US) has declined by 35 percent, translating to more than 4.8 million fewer cancer deaths. Today, there are more than 18.6 million cancer survivors.

Behind these numbers are advances across the cancer continuum. New approaches to prevention and early detection, increasingly precise ways of diagnosing and treating cancer, and innovative therapies are helping patients live longer, healthier lives. These achievements would not have been possible without strong bipartisan leadership in the US House of Representatives and Senate, which have long made medical research a national priority.

For this progress to continue, Congress must act decisively to provide a robust increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year (FY) 2027 and protect a federal grantmaking process grounded in scientific merit.

Therefore, at this pivotal moment, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) calls on Congress to stop the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing or implementing its proposed rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance.” The proposal would inject political considerations into funding decisions and broaden federal agencies’ authority to terminate grants for reasons unrelated to scientific merit or recipient performance. While we commend the Senate for its bipartisan action to block the rule through December 11, 2026, a temporary delay is not a lasting solution. Congress must carry this protection forward in final FY 2027 appropriations legislation and ensure that federal grantmaking remains guided by evidence, scientific merit, transparency, and accountability.

In summary, continued progress against cancer and the hundreds of diseases affecting millions of Americans will require the unwavering support of our elected leaders to:

Sustain the Foundations of Discovery

Provide robust and sustained federal investments for medical and cancer research. Congress should provide at least $51.303 billion for NIH and at least $7.999 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in FY 2027. This funding is essential to maintaining a broad and competitive research portfolio and advancing the discoveries that will define the next era of progress against cancer and all of the other diseases affecting so many Americans. NIH-supported research also fuels economic activity, supports jobs, and drives innovation at universities, medical centers, and small businesses across the country.
Ensure that federal research funds are implemented as Congress intended. The current Administration has prevented appropriated funds from being awarded in a timely and predictable manner and administered without unnecessary delay or interference. The Administration should also ensure that NIH has the sufficient staffing and expertise to manage every stage of the grantmaking process, from application receipt and merit review to award administration and closeout. When funding is delayed, narrowed, redirected, or structured in ways that reduce the number of meritorious grants supported, such as through the Administration’s mandate to utilize the multi-year funding mechanism without a corresponding increase in resources, the consequences are felt in laboratories, clinical studies, training programs, and ultimately in the lives of patients waiting for better options.
Prioritize the cancer research workforce. Early-career and early-stage investigators are the future of cancer research. Federal policies must create stable pathways for promising scientists to establish independent careers, pursue bold ideas, and build the research programs that will produce tomorrow’s breakthroughs against cancer.

Protect Scientific Integrity and Independence

Preserve scientific merit as the foundation of federal research funding. Funding decisions should be guided by rigorous evaluation by scientific experts, not political or ideological considerations. Congress and the Administration should reject policies that subject research grants to political review or allow meritorious proposals to be denied on undefined or nonscientific grounds.
Safeguard the stability of active research awards and clinical trials. Active research grants, including awards supporting ongoing clinical trials, should not be terminated for reasons unrelated to recipient performance, scientific integrity, or responsible stewardship of federal funds. Because of the complexities of cancer, cancer research often requires years of sustained investment. Abruptly withdrawing support wastes taxpayer resources, destabilizes research programs, and jeopardizes studies on which patients depend.
Protect researchers’ ability to publish and share scientific findings to maximize innovation. Researchers must be able to access scientific literature, participate in scientific conferences, and exchange knowledge with colleagues. These activities are essential to validating discoveries, fostering innovation, avoiding unnecessary duplication, informing patient care, and ensuring that the public benefits from taxpayer-funded research.
Apply rigorous, risk-based oversight to international scientific collaboration. Protecting research integrity and national security is essential, but oversight should be targeted and proportionate to risk. Broad or unnecessary barriers to legitimate international partnerships would limit access to specialized expertise, data, technologies, and patient populations and would weaken American scientific leadership.

Scientific integrity is what makes research credible and medical advances worthy of public trust.

Ensure That Every Patient Benefits From Progress Against Cancer

Strengthen the US Food and Drug Administration’s ability to translate discoveries into benefits for patients. Policymakers should ensure that the agency has the oncology expertise and regulatory science capacity needed to support modern, patient-centered clinical trials while maintaining rigorous standards for safety and effectiveness.
Sustain evidence-based public health programs that prevent cancer and promote earlier detection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other US public health agencies must have the resources, expertise, and independence needed to support screening, tobacco control, vaccination, and other proven cancer prevention strategies. Their guidance and policies should reflect the best available scientific evidence.
Modernize the infrastructure that connects research and care. Policymakers should invest in interoperable data systems, responsible digital health technologies, the cancer workforce, and community-based care infrastructure. These investments are essential to delivering complex cancer care, accelerating research, and extending the benefits of discovery across the country.
Remove barriers to cancer prevention and care. Policymakers should expand access to evidence-based prevention and screening services, broaden participation in clinical trials so that study populations better reflect the people affected by cancer, and support comprehensive treatment and survivorship care. Rural and medically underserved communities, people with limited insurance coverage, and populations that have historically experienced worse cancer outcomes must be central to these efforts, not an afterthought.

Cancer is not partisan. It remains one of the most urgent and universal challenges of our time, touching not only patients and survivors but also the families, friends, and caregivers who stand beside them. For more than 50 years, the United States has led the world in confronting this disease through sustained federal investment, bipartisan resolve, and an enduring commitment to scientific progress that improves and saves lives.

Continued advances depend on robust federal funding for medical research and a grantmaking system that allows the strongest science to move forward without political interference. The decisions Congress makes now will determine whether the United States continues to lead the world toward a future without cancer.

Next Section: AACR Initiatives Previous Section: Advancing Cancer Science and Medical Research Through Evidence-Based Policies