ASTRO joined 49 organizations, comprising the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) coalition, in sending a letter to leadership on the House Committee on Appropriations urging prioritization of funding for cancer research and prevention in ongoing negotiations on the FY24 Appropriations bill. The letter explains how detrimental funding cuts are to the progress of research and ultimately patient experience.

Congress currently faces two March deadlines to pass the 12 FY24 Appropriations bills following passage of a Continuing Resolution (CR) that extended previous deadlines in January and February. Failure to pass these bills or another short-term CR would result in a government shutdown and mandatory cuts to nondefense spending, like funding for NIH and NCI.

Due to this urgency, ASTRO continues to lobby Congress to pass $47.7 billion in funding for NIH, including $7.38 billion for the NCI, and $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).