The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to advance its fiscal year (FY) 2025 Labor Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill and accompanying report language.
As the American College of Radiology® (ACR®) previously reported, this bill would include $48.5 billion in total funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and proposes a consolidation of the 27 existing NIH Institutes and Centers. ACR continues to advocate for at least $51.3 billion for the NIH’s base program level in FY 2025.
During the committee markup of the bill, several members of Congress expressed their concerns about the bill’s proposal to restructure the NIH. Additionally, medical imaging was highlighted in multiple portions of the bill’s report language, including under the National Cancer Institute:
Medical Imaging Technologies in Cancer Screening Trials. —The Committee supports the establishment of clinical trials conducted by the NCI to assess the potential role of blood tests to detect cancer in the body. Medical imaging, as a means of conducting diagnostic workup following a positive assay and as a method for disease characterization, is essential to this clinical trial and assessment process. As the Administration aims to reach a 50 percent reduction in overall age-standardized cancer mortality in the U.S. by 2047, imaging is a known necessity for a cancer diagnosis and treatment and should continue to hold a core function in the clinical trial process. The Committee urges NCI to include imaging technologies and tools in these clinical trials, as they are the essential component of each precise cancer diagnosis and help ensure patients receive the most effective and impactful care.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee has not released its FY 2025 figures for NIH and the individual institutes and centers. The final FY 2025 bill for NIH may not reflect the House’s proposed NIH consolidation; the House and Senate will then need to negotiate a consensus version of the LHHS bills, including a final allocation to NIH and additional federal agencies.
For more information, contact Katie Grady, ACR Government Affairs Director.