Senator Collins Announces Historic Funding Increases for Biomedical Research on Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Cancer, and Other Diseases

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) announced that the government funding package that was signed into law included $44.96 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $2.25 billion increase.  As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and a member of the Health Committee, Senator Collins has long championed greater investments in biomedical research.  This historic level of funding, which builds on significant increases in recent years, represents a 51 percent increase to support for research at the NIH over the past seven years.

“There is simply no investment that promises greater returns for America than our investment in biomedical research.  Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, with their devastating human and financial costs, are powerful examples of the urgent need to keep our momentum in research funding going,” said Senator Collins. “I am so encouraged that Congress worked in a bipartisan way to provide this transformative funding that will bring tangible hope to so many Americans.”

The law provides $1 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).  ARPA-H will focus on time-limited projects with quantifiable goals and benchmarks that apply to a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancer, and infectious disease.  

As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease in the Senate and as the founder and co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, Senator Collins also strongly advocated for provisions to boost research for Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.  The law includes:

• $3.48 billion for Alzheimer’s research at the NIH, an increase of $289 million. Since fiscal year 2015, Congress has increased research funding for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias by more than 500 percent, making it the largest expenditure of its kind at NIH. 

• $2.2 billion for diabetes research at the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disorders at NIH, an increase of $71.95 million.

Additionally, as the author of the Kay Hagan Tick Act, Senator Collins has prioritized investments in research to address the public health threat of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease.  The law includes:

• $54.6 million for CDC vector-borne disease programs, a $12 million increase, and $20.5 million to support implementation of the Kay Hagan Tick Act, a $4.5 million increase.

• $114 million for NIH Lyme and tick-borne disease research, an $18 million increase.

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