An article published June 1 by the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) reports that the Trump administration’s federal budget proposal released on May 30 for Fiscal Year 2026 would slash the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) budget by 25.2 % overall, would cut funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 40.4%, and reduce the National Cancer Institute (NCI) budget by 37.2%.
The AACI reported that the passage of the National Cancer Act in 1971 led to a period of strong bipartisan support for cancer research, making the NIH the top funder of biomedical research internationally. One result is that, between 1991 and 2022, there has been a 34% reduction in deaths from cancer in the U.S., “and 18 million more Americans are alive today due to advances in cancer screening, prevention, and care.” They characterize the proposed budget cuts as an assault on scientific progress and America’s public health infrastructure.
