Today, nearly 300 advocates from more than 30 states are on Capitol Hill for the 14th Annual Rally for Medical Research. Representing over 125 scientific and patient advocacy organizations, they are meeting with members of Congress and their staff to champion the lifesaving research supported by the National Institutes of Health.

You do not have to be on Capitol Hill to be part of the Rally. By taking action, you can join this nationwide effort and reinforce the message being delivered to Congress.

For more than half a century, bipartisan congressional leadership and sustained federal investment in NIH have fueled extraordinary scientific advances, improved and extended lives, and strengthened America’s leadership in medical innovation. Continuing that progress requires both strong investment and a federal research system that is stable, predictable, and guided by scientific merit.

We are grateful that Congress recently came together on a bipartisan basis to prevent the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) harmful proposed grant rule from taking effect through December 11. That action provides an important safeguard for patients, researchers, and institutions, but the protection is temporary. OMB should withdraw the proposal entirely. If it does not, Congress must include language in the final fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations legislation preventing the rule from being finalized or implemented.

That is why Rally advocates are calling on Congress to:

• Provide at least $51.3 billion for NIH in FY 2027 and ensure that research funding is delivered in a timely and predictable manner.
• Protect medical research by permanently stopping OMB’s harmful proposed rule and preserving a federal research funding system grounded in scientific merit.

Please contact your members of Congress today and join advocates across the country in calling for strong NIH funding and lasting protections for lifesaving research.

Together, we can reinforce the message being delivered on Capitol Hill: protect medical research, sustain strong NIH funding, and ensure that scientific progress continues.

Thank you for standing with the Rally for Medical Research and making your voice heard.