Congress Enacts Funding Bill with Wins for the Breast Cancer Community

WASHINGTON, DC - Susan G. Komen®, the world's leading breast cancer organization, commends Congress for passing key funding bills for fiscal year 2026 (FY26) - this included the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services bills that contain provisions and funding critical to the breast cancer community. President Trump is expected to sign the package into law, ending the partial government shutdown.

Komen thanks Congress for maintaining and increasing funding for vital programs in FY26. Specifically, Komen applauds the inclusion of the following provisions:

• $201.9 million (a $1 million increase) for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, a vital safety net program that since 1991 has provided access to breast health services for millions of women without adequate health insurance.
• $48.7 billion (a $415 million increase) for the National Institutes of Health, including $7.4 billion (a $128 million increase) for the National Cancer Institute and an increase of $30 million for the Office of Research on Women's Health.
• $145 million (a $15 million increase) for the Breast Cancer Research Program under the Department of Defense.
• Inclusion of the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, which will create a pathway to Medicare coverage for multi-cancer early detection technology.
• An extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, including a continuation of the flexibilities that allow Medicare beneficiaries to utilize telehealth from their homes.

Komen's Center for Public Policy would like to thank the members of Congress and breast cancer advocates who have tirelessly voiced support for these programs and policies. As Congress now turns to FY27, so too will Komen and its advocates - we will work to preserve and build upon these gains and ensure that these crucially important programs continue to be funded at the highest possible levels. Komen calls on our leaders to sustain this momentum and work with our community toward a FY27 budget that continues to build a strong investment in creating a world where no one dies of breast cancer.