The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is carefully reviewing the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 “skinny” budget proposal, which was released May 2 and contains significant cuts to federal health agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—notably, a 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) overall budget.
The President’s budget proposal outlines the Administration’s funding priorities; Congress is tasked with setting the federal budget.
While the proposal doesn’t mention the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the National Cancer Institute, it does retain the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. However, the Administration proposes to majorly consolidate the NIH’s Institutes and centers and eliminate some divisions. It also proposes budget cuts or changes to other key HHS agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While a more detailed budget is expected to be released later this month, this proposal recommends eliminating the CDC center that houses the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and the Office on Smoking and Health. It is unknown at this time if the work of these divisions and offices would move elsewhere.
Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO
Association Board Chair Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, commented:
"The NIH has had a long history of strong bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress, and while we await more detail, we are deeply concerned about the potential negative impact of the Administration’s proposed cuts to federal health programs.”
"America became the global leader in medical research and innovation through deliberate design and decades of intentional investment. While ASCO appreciates the goal of a more streamlined research environment, some of the funding and organizational changes put forth in this budget have the potential to erode the nation’s robust research ecosystem and threaten the nation's role as the global leader in medical research and innovation.”
"A 40% cut in NIH funding would inevitably reduce the frequency and pace of scientific breakthroughs, including for cancer care. In cancer care, NIH also fills urgent, unmet needs, such as studies focused on prevention and screening, treatment for rare cancers, and studies comparing the effectiveness and safety of similar treatments. Drastically reducing the agency’s funding risks hampering this essential work and slowing or stopping the pace and progress of lifesaving research. This would be compounded by deep cuts to CDC that could result in the end of proven prevention efforts, including numerous cancer screening programs. Fewer people being able to access timely screenings risks more people being diagnosed with later-stage disease, which is harder and costlier to treat.”
"The path to conquering cancer is to keep pushing the science forward. Millions of Americans are alive and active in their communities thanks to federally funded cancer research, screening, and prevention.”
"We urge lawmakers to prioritize federal research funding in their FY 2026 budget and preserve the research reputation and results that have saved millions of lives and made the U.S. the global research and scientific leader that it is today."
