Congress finished its work on the federal government’s annual spending bills in mid-December, with President Trump signing it into law. Allergy & Asthma Network’s advocacy efforts, along with stakeholder partners, led to increases in federal program funding and policy provisions in areas including:
- $41.7 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
- $8 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which includes $30 million for the National Asthma Control Program;
- $7.3 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which includes $1.2 billion for HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions programs to support the medical workforce;
- $2.7 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental programs and management accounts, through which EPA performs its general environmental oversight activities, including asthma programming; and
- $290 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. This includes funding for the Healthy Homes Initiative, to address other health and safety hazards in the home, including carbon monoxide, asthma, mold and radon.
In addition, “Food Allergies” was added to the list of conditions eligible to be studied under the Department of Defense (DOD) Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program, which is funded at $350 million. The program includes medical research projects of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health.
There is also direction for “further investment” in the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to support clinical research on food allergies.
We continue to advocate for priority asthma and allergy bills pending in Congress – get involved and contact your members of Congress today!
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