The ALS Association Secures Major Legislative Victory with ACT for ALS Becoming Law

President signs the bipartisan measure, extending life-saving research and treatment access programs through 2031

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The ALS Association celebrates the signing of the ACT for ALS Act into law, a milestone the organization helped drive from the first conversations with congressional champions to the final bill signing. This is a significant victory for the ALS community. The reauthorization ensures that the research and treatment access programs established under the original ACT for ALS will continue through 2031, accelerating progress toward effective treatments and a cure.

This victory belongs to the entire ALS community. Working with bipartisan champions in Congress, the ALS Association helped shape and strengthen this legislation around the priorities people living with ALS and their families have consistently emphasized: moving faster, reducing barriers to access, and generating the evidence needed to turn promising research into approved treatments.

The ALS Association mobilized advocates across all 50 states and worked directly with partners on both sides of the aisle to shape and strengthen the bill. Their tireless advocacy helped ensure the legislation reflects the priorities of people living with ALS and their families, accelerating the development of effective therapies while ensuring accountability and transparency every step of the way.

"We must accelerate research and technology to help make ALS livable and cure it. To every advocate who walked into a congressional office and wouldn't leave without a commitment: you did this. To the families who shared their hardest moments, so other families might have more time: you did this," said Calaneet Balas, president and CEO of the ALS Association. "We're grateful to our champions on both sides of the aisle who helped make this legislation possible. People living with ALS cannot wait, and neither will we."

Since its initial passage in 2021, ACT for ALS has accelerated research into promising therapies. The reauthorization builds on that foundation, keeping research at the center so the field can learn which treatments truly work and deliver them to everyone living with ALS. That focus, grounded in the priorities of people living with ALS and families, is why the ALS Association pushed so hard to get it right.

This is a significant victory for the ALS community that will sustain funding for research, support for families, and an unrelenting push to accelerate the development of effective treatments. This work was possible because of the organization's leadership, partners in Congress, and most of all, the efforts of our advocates who showed up, met with lawmakers again and again, and refused to let this deadline expire.

About the ALS Association
The ALS Association is the largest ALS organization in the world. The ALS Association funds global research collaborations, assists people with ALS and their families through its nationwide network of care and certified clinical care centers, and advocates for better public policies for people with ALS. The ALS Association is working to make ALS a livable disease while urgently searching for new treatments and a cure. For more information about the ALS Association, visit our website at www.als.org.

About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Over the course of the disease, people lose the ability to move, to speak, and eventually, to breathe. The disease is always fatal, usually within five years of diagnosis. Few treatment options exist, resulting in a high unmet need for new therapies to address functional deficits and disease progression.

SOURCE The ALS Association