AACR, Founding Organizer and Lead Sponsor of the 13th Annual Rally for Medical Research Hill Day, to Advocate for Increase in Federal Funding for NIH

More than 400 organizations join forces again this year to improve health, inspire hope, and save lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the founding organizer and lead sponsor of the 13th annual Rally for Medical Research Hill Day taking place today, September 18, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is joining a nationwide coalition of more than 400 organizations on Capitol Hill to advocate for a robust funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year (FY) 2026 to safeguard the future of lifesaving medical research.

For decades, Republicans and Democrats have united to build NIH into one of our nation’s greatest treasures. That bipartisan commitment has fueled scientific discoveries and accelerated progress against hundreds of diseases impacting millions of Americans. Further, the American public overwhelmingly supports federal funding for medical research. A new national poll shows that 89% of voters support the federal government using taxpayer dollars to fund medical research and that 71% of voters think increasing federal funding for medical research should be a top congressional priority.

This year, more than 400 Hill Day participants from across the country are thanking lawmakers for their longstanding support of NIH and urging Congress to provide the highest possible increase to the NIH base budget in FY 2026. The medical research community has recommended at least $51.3 billion as the NIH base budget. This level of investment will sustain momentum, accelerate clinical trials, and ensure lifesaving research continues without interruption.

The impact of this investment is widespread and multifaceted:

• Each year, NIH awards more than 60,000 research and training grants. These grants support approximately 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities and organizations in every state.

• In FY 2024, research funded by NIH supported more than 407,000 jobs and more than $94 billion in economic activity across the U.S.

• NIH-funded research contributed to 354 of 356 new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2010 and 2019.

In conjunction with the Hill Day, advocates across the country are participating in the Rally National Day of Action. Partnering organizations are encouraging their communities to contact their members of Congress via phone, email, and social media to express their support for federal funding for medical research.  The Rally for Medical Research initiative was launched in April 2013 to bring together the entire medical research community to urge Congress to make NIH funding a national priority. Through the annual Hill Day, the Rally for Medical Research continues to raise awareness about the critical need for continued investment in NIH to improve health, spur progress, inspire hope, and save lives.

Download a photo of Rally participants