House Committee Advances Funding for Lupus Programs

Moments ago, the Committee on Appropriations in the U.S. House of Representatives passed their fiscal year 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations bill. The legislation includes funding for several programs and agencies critical to lupus research and education, including:

• $8.5 million for the National Lupus Patient Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
• $2 million for the Lupus Program at the Office of Minority Health;
• $47 billion for the National Institutes of Health, the largest public funder of lupus research in the world, an increase of more than $5 billion over 2020.

If enacted into law, this legislation would bring total funding for the National Lupus Patient Registry to more than $80 million since the Foundation and lupus advocates led efforts to establish the program at the CDC in 2003. Since then, the Registry has funded research into every aspect of lupus, and advanced our understanding about who gets lupus and how it affects them, the natural history of the disease, and the burden of treatment on people living with lupus.

The legislation also directs $2 million to the Office of Minority Health and their National Lupus Training, Outreach, and Clinical Trial Program (Lupus Program) to be used to launch a new multi-year grant cycle with the goals to “reduce lupus-related health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations disproportionately affected by lupus and also to increase minority participation in lupus-related clinical trials." The program has received nearly $17 million in federal funding since 2009 to continue its vitally important work. 

We are grateful to our champions in the Congressional Lupus Caucus who lead our fight on Capitol Hill. We’re especially thankful to the Caucus Co-chairs, Representatives Bill Keating (D-MA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Peter King (R-NY), as well as the Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX).

Most importantly, we are thankful to our nationwide network of lupus advocates who never miss an opportunity to raise their voice in support of policies and programs like these that are critical to our shared fight against lupus.

The passion and commitment of lupus advocates plays a tremendous role in all of our victories, and we are honored to be your partners in this fight.

Next Steps

The Committee’s LHHS bill now moves to the full House of Representatives for consideration later this month. Additionally, tomorrow the Committee is expected to advance its fiscal year 2021 Department of Defense funding bill, which includes $10 million for the Lupus Research Program. The Senate Committee on Appropriations has yet to begin working on its version of either bill.