On June 9, the House Appropriations Committee approved its FY27 health funding bill, which includes an increase in cancer research funding and ASTRO-supported report language encouraging federal support for functional radiation medicine research. ASTRO worked with numerous Congressional offices to include report language specifically encouraging the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) to support "rigorous, peer-reviewed research into functional radiation medicine, including to evaluate basic, translational, and clinical studies, with attention to long-term outcomes, safety considerations, and comparisons with existing standards of care." While report language does not have the force of law, federal agencies use it as a guidance on how to spend money appropriated to them by Congress.

The bill appropriates $110.8 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, a 4% decrease, but it also rejects the sweeping cuts proposed by the White House's FY27 budget request. The National Institutes of Health would receive $48.8 billion, a $1.6 billion increase, and the National Cancer Institute would be funded at $7.46 billion compared to $7.34 billion in FY26. Lastly, the bill proposes that the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health receive flat funding at $1.5 billion. The next step in the process is for the bill to receive a vote by the full House of Representatives. Senate appropriators have yet to announce their committee hearing schedule.