Research Funding Approval in House of Representatives for 2022 Fiscal Year

On July 12, 2021, the House Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Defense Appropriations bill containing the $10 million increase for the Department of Defense (DoD) Ovarian Cancer Research Program proposed and previously approved by the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.  Although there are several more steps to go through in the FY 2022 appropriations process, final approval from Congress will result in a historic $45 million funding level for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program in FY 2022.

Additionally on July 15, 2021, the House Appropriations Committee also approved the FY 2022 legislation that provides funding for research and supporting the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education and Related Agencies. For 2022, the Committee Labor-HHS-Education bill provides a total of $49 billion for NIH in FY 2022, including $3.5 billion for ARPA-H and $7 billion for National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Both proposals include report language requested  by the SGO leadership related to gynecologic cancer.  In the Defense Bill, the report language allows  for grants regarding endometrial cancer to be funded from the Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program. In the Labor, HHS bill it directs NCI to address health disparities in gynecologic cancer.

Please see the press releases below regarding these major funding announcements.

Department of Defense (DoD) – Upon consideration of the FY 2022 Defense bill, the House Appropriations Committee released the Committee report accompanying the bill. Within the report, the House included SGO requested language to list endometrial cancer as a research priority under the DoD Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program.  We again worked with Leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, Reps. Watson Coleman, R. Kelly, and Clarke on this request via a Congressional sign on letter.  The excerpt from the FY 2022 Defense Committee Report is below:

Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program – The funds provided in the peer-reviewed cancer research program are directed to be used to conduct research in the following areas: bladder cancer; blood cancers; brain cancer; colorectal cancer; endometrial cancer; esophageal cancer; germ cell cancers; head and neck cancer; liver cancer; lymphoma; mesothelioma; metastatic cancers; neuroblastoma; pediatric brain tumors; pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancers; sarcoma; stomach cancer; thyroid cancer; and Von Hippel-Lindau cancer. The inclusion of the individual rare cancer research program shall not prohibit the peer-reviewed cancer research program from funding the previously mentioned cancers or cancer subtypes that may be rare by definition.

The House FY 2022 Defense Appropriations bill provides a total of $115,000,000 for the Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program, under which funds for endometrial cancer can be used.  A breakdown of the funding allocations for all the DoD Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Programs is reflected on page 2 and 3 below.

Next Steps:  The FY 2022 Defense Appropriations bill next moves to the House floor where it is expected to be brought to a vote sometime in the next two weeks, prior to the House recessing for the August district work period. It is still unclear if the Senate Appropriations Committee will begin the process of marking up its FY 2022 appropriations bills before leaving in August or if the process in the Senate will be delayed until the Fall.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH) – The House bill provides a total of $49 billion for NIH in FY 2022, which the Committee press release describes as an increase of $6.5 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level. This includes $3 billion to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and an increase of $3.5 billion for the agency’s core funding, with an increase of no less than 5% for each Institute and Center. This compares to the president’s budget request that includes $52 billion for the NIH, a $9 billion increase with $6.5 billion proposed for ARPA-H and $2.5 billion for the NIH core budget.

For the National Cancer Institute, this bill would provide the following:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2021 ………………………………………………… $6,559,852,000

President’s Budget Request, fiscal year 2022 ………………………………. 6,733,302,000

Committee Recommendation ………………………………………………… 6,992,056,000

Change from 2021 enacted level ………………………………………………… +432,204,000

Change from President’s Budget Request ……………………………………. +258,754,000

For the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), this bill would provide the following:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2021 …………………………………………………… $43,925,000

President’s Budget Request, fiscal year 2022………………………………….52,303,000

Committee Recommendation ……………………………………………….61,480,000

Change from 2021 enacted level ……. ………………………………………+17,555,000

Change from President’s Budget Request …………………………………..+9,177,000

SGO Report Language on Gynecologic Cancers – Based on research recommendations from SGO leaders and a strong SGO advocacy effort, the House Appropriations Committee included the following report language requested by SGO in the FY 2022 House Labor-HHS-Education Committee Report under the National Cancer Institute section:

Gynecologic Cancers —The Committee continues to be concerned about the growing racial, socioeconomic, and geographic disparities in gynecologic cancers. In contrast to most other common cancers in the U.S., relative survival for women with newly diagnosed advanced cervical or endometrial cancer has not significantly improved since the 1970s. Furthermore, historical data demonstrates that Black and Latina women with gynecologic cancers are not as likely to receive standard therapy and/or die more frequently. The current COVID–19 pandemic has only exacerbated the health care disparities that were already present in minority and underrepresented communities. Therefore, the Committee urges NCI to expand the number of programs, projects, clinical trials, research grants, and contract opportunities for investigators that focus on discoveries that will positively impact access to prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment for gynecologic cancers and address these now well-documented disparities. The Committee requests an update on NCI’s research program for gynecologic cancers in the fiscal year 2023 Congressional Budget Justification, including specific grants and strategies where the intent is to overcome these racial disparities in gynecologic cancers outcomes, including the underrepresentation of minority women in gynecologic cancer clinical trials.

For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this bill would provide the following:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2021 ………………………………………………… $7,874,804,000

President’s Budget Request, fiscal year 2022 ………………………………. 9,552,519,000

Committee Recommendation ………………………………………………. 10,571,419,000

Change from 2021 enacted level ………………………………………………… +2,696,615,000

Change from President’s Budget Request ……………………………………. +1,018,900,000

The Committee recommendation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program level includes $9,612,761,000 in discretionary budget authority, $55,358,000 in mandatory funds under the terms of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, and $903,300,000 in transfers from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the bill would provide the following:

Appropriation, fiscal year 2021 ………………………………………………… $1,276,664,000

President’s Budget Request, fiscal year 2022 ………………………………. 1,452,664,000

Committee Recommendation ………………………………………………… 1,557,064,000

Change from 2021 enacted level …………………………………………………. +280,400,000

Change from President’s Budget Request …………………………………….. +104,400,000

Within the Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion account, the bill provides for the following:

• $230 million for Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment, a $5 million increase over FY 2021
• $51.44 million for Cancer Registries, which is the same level as in FY 2021
• $12 million for Johanna’s Law – Gynecologic Cancer Public Education, a $2 million increase over FY 2021
• $14 million for the Ovarian Cancer Control Program, a $2 million increase over FY 2021

Next Steps: The House of Representatives is planning to pass all the appropriations bills before leaving Washington for the August district work period, except for the Homeland Security appropriations bill. The Labor-HHS-Education bill is expected to be included in a seven-bill spending package House Democrats are planning to bring to the floor in two weeks. There are conflicting reports about when the Senate will begin to move the FY 2022 appropriations bills, with some suggesting the possibility that the process may begin late this month or early in August; and other reports suggesting the process may be delayed until the Fall. Congress will be required to pass a continuing resolution for those parts of the government funded by appropriations bills that have not been enacted by the October 1st start of the 2022 fiscal year.