While the federal government remained mired in a shutdown, ASTRO joined over 450 organizations from the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research in an October 27 letter to congressional appropriations leaders urging them to provide adequate funding for both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in FY26. The letter endorsed the Senate's version of the Labor-Health and Human Services funding bill, which contains the bulk of federal health spending. The bipartisan Senate version would fund NIH at $47.2 billion for FY26 and provide the agency with more capacity to fund research, support the next generation of researchers, and prevent further decreases in the number of awardees. The bill also provides $1.5 billion in FY26 funding for ARPA-H. The letter highlighted the fact that NIH-funded research exists in almost every congressional district and provides a variety of benefits like medical breakthroughs, economic growth, and better national security.