Statement from the ALS Association: Proposed Funding Cuts Will Derail Efforts to Turn ALS from Fatal to Livable

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- We are deeply alarmed by proposed cuts to research that will deal a devastating blow to the fight against ALS. Drastic changes to research funding will hinder progress toward turning ALS from fatal to livable. Reducing indirect cost funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will cripple the ability of research institutions to sustain the infrastructure, ensure competitiveness, and grow the workforce necessary for groundbreaking discoveries. NIH and other government agencies are the largest funders of ALS research with more than $200M invested per year. These actions could set ALS research back decades and undermine American leadership.  

In addition, potential cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would further erode ALS research and essential programs that people living with ALS rely on every day.  

Turning ALS from fatal to livable – and curing it -- requires robust investment in research, access to high-quality care, and a commitment to ensuring that every person diagnosed with this fatal disease has the best possible chance at treatment. Slashing these resources not only jeopardizes scientific advancements but directly threatens the well-being of individuals living with ALS, including veterans who are more likely to be diagnosed with this devastating disease.  

Now is the time to accelerate -- not dismantle -- progress against ALS. 

Congress should reject cuts to ALS research and support the funding necessary to make ALS a livable disease. We urge advocates, caregivers, and supporters to oppose harmful cuts and contact their Members of Congress. We cannot afford to go backward -- lives depend on it.  

You can contact your Members of Congress and share why funding ALS research is so important by clicking HERE.  

Many of the country's leading research institutions play a crucial role in advancing ALS research, with support from the ALS Association. These universities are on the front lines - working on everything from identifying new therapeutic targets to improving clinical care and accelerating treatments. Their work is critical in transforming ALS from a fatal disease to a livable one, but it is reliant on sustained federal funding.

The following universities have recently been engaged in ALS research supported by the ALS Association:

Baylor College of Medicine, Brown University, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Emory University, Georgetown University, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Columbia University Mind Brain Behaviour Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins University JHURA, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Northwestern University - Evanston Campus, Nova Southeastern University, President & Fellows of Harvard College, President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Regents of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Saint Louis University, Stanford University School of Medicine, State University of New York, Stony Brook, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Temple University, The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, The Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois - University of Illinois Chicago, The Curators of the University of Missouri, The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc., The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, The Regents of the University of California, Davis, The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles, The Regents of the University of California, San Diego, The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco, The Regents of the University of Michigan, The Rockefeller University, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, The University of Utah, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Denver, AMC and DC, University of Florida, University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc., University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Rhode Island, University of Southern California (USC), University of Wisconsin-Madison (Board of Regents University of Wisconsin System), Virginia Commonwealth University, Washington University in St. Louis, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Yale University.

SOURCE The ALS Association