The government shutdown ended after Congress agreed to a short-term funding patch to keep the government open until late January 2026. That’s good news for patients, researchers, and families. But the work isn’t done. Congress still needs to pass full-year Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) appropriations bills that include the brain tumor community’s key medical research funding priorities before the new deadline.
What Happened
After a multi-week lapse in funding during which many critical functions of the federal government slowed or halted, Congress passed — and the President signed — a package that reopens the government. As part of the package, some branches and agencies are now funded for the rest of the fiscal year, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Others, like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as the Department of Defense, are operating under a continuing resolution (CR) through late January, meaning they’ll still be operating at current (FY 2025) levels. Finally, the CR also extended expired Medicare telehealth flexibilities through the end of January, as well.
What it Means for the Brain Tumor Community
During the shutdown, new grants from important sources of brain tumor funding like the NIH and the Department of Defense’s Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP), as well as NIH-run clinical trials were paused or delayed. With the government reopened, those activities can restart—but, again, CRs keep agencies on last year’s funding levels and constrain new activities and planning. In practice, that slows trial activation, grants processing, and program planning—exactly the things that help move promising science to patients.
The resumption of Medicare telehealth flexibility for now is also positive news for the brain tumor community. However, with another deadline looming just over two months from now, uncertainty will remain until long-term or permanent extensions are provided in the next set of funding bills.
Congress has a brief window to finish FY26 appropriations and give NIH, NCI, and other programs important to the brain tumor community the stability they need.
What NBTS is Asking Congress to Do – Now
NBTS is urging Congress to pass full-year FY26 spending bills that include robust, predictable funding for the programs that matter most to our community:
- Increase funding for NIH to at least $51.303 billion and for NCI to at least $7.934 billion
- Establish a dedicated $10 million line item for the NCI’s Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network
- Within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), we ask that Congress a) Reinstate $10 million for the dedicated Glioblastoma Research Program, and b) Increase funding for the DoD’s Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) from $130 million to $150 million, with pediatric brain tumors and brain cancer as eligible research topics.
Act now: Tell Congress to pass full-year FY26 bills and include NBTS’s funding requests.
The brain tumor community cannot afford a start–stop research environment. Brain tumor research needs predictable, sustained, and robust FY26 funding – above current levels – to open trials on time, award more grants, and advance cutting-edge research toward patients.
What We’ll Do Next
NBTS will keep you informed as Congress turns to the remaining FY26 funding bills.
Importantly, we’re also asking Congress to work concurrently on passing additional health care policies that impact the brain tumor community, including the Bolstering Research and Innovation Now (BRAIN) Act (H.R.2767, S.1330), the Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act (H.R.1509, S.752), the Give Kids a Chance Act of 2025 (H.R.1262, S.932), the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA, H.R.4425, S.2287), and permanently extending Medicare telehealth flexibility.Finally, now that key agency staff are back in the office with the government reopen, we’re also preparing to submit our community petition that more than 4,500 individuals and organizations signed asking the NCI to reverse its recent decision to not invite a renewal of funding proposal from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (PBTC). As advocates for the brain tumor community, we’re urging the NCI to sustain the critical function and work of the PBTC for our most vulnerable patients.
In the meantime, your voice matters. When advocates speak up, it helps Congress prioritize science that saves lives. Take Action.
