On March 11, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) bill that includes a devastating 57% cut to the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). This reduction would severely limit funding for critical research into diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis. The Les Turner ALS Foundation strongly opposes this cut, which would slash CMDRP funding from $1.51 billion to $650 million for FY2025.
ALS is a devastating disease with no cure, but recent research has brought us closer to effective treatments. We are deeply concerned about the cut to the CDMRP for FY2025. This cut would severely impact the ALS Research Program (ALSRP), which is critical for veterans, as ALS rates are higher among them. In FY2024, the ALSRP received over $80 million in research proposals, double the allocated funding, leaving many high-quality projects unfunded. To end ALS, a terminal and underfunded disease, we must fully fund research to understand and treat ALS, which directly impacts the health of our military.
You can read more about the ALS Research Program and the tremendous progress made through its funding. Many members of the ALS community have served as peer reviewers, and the Les Turner ALS Center at Northwestern Medicine has received funding from CDMRP.
The bill will now proceed to the Senate, where it requires bipartisan support before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk for final approval. If no action is taken on the CR by Saturday, March 15, a government shutdown will occur.
We believe that ALS is not an incurable disease; it is an underfunded disease. That funding is essential. People living with ALS have no time to waste.
