As Congress begins the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations, please join us in advocating for increased federal funding to support brain health. There are two specific opportunities you can make your legislators aware of that seek to provide funding for important brain research and treatment endeavors.
First, Representatives Blumenauer (D-OR), Pascrell (D-NJ), Bacon (R-NE), and Barragan (D-CA) are circulating a sign-on letter addressed to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies calling for a $25 million investment in a Neuroscience Center of Excellence (NCOE) at the FDA. As we continue to advocate for authorizing legislation that will create a NCOE, we recognize that the FDA already has authority to establish the NCOE under the 21st Century Cures Act. With appropriate resources of $25 million FDA officials could move forward in creating this body that will help speed safe and effective treatments for brain diseases, disorders, and injuries to millions of Americans impacted by them.
Additionally, Representatives Blumenauer (D-OR), McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Pascrell (D-NJ), and Fitzpatrick (R-PA) are circulating a sign-on letter addressed to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies seeking support for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. Achieving the promise of the BRAIN Initiative, which seeks to revolutionize our understanding of the brain, will require a long-term, sustained investment in innovative brain research. The BRAIN Initiative was funded at $620 million in FY 2022. This sign-on letter urges the Subcommittee to continue to advance this progress by providing another robust investment for the BRAIN Initiative in Fiscal Year 2023.
You can reach out to your contacts in the House of Representatives to alert them to both opportunities. Please encourage them to sign the letters calling for funding of a Neuroscience Center of Excellence and a robust investment in the BRAIN Initiative in FY 2023.