House Subcommittee Advances Legislation Including Funding for Lupus Research Program

UPDATE: on July 13, the House Committee on Appropriations advanced the fiscal year 2022 Department of Defense spending bill and its $10 million for the Lupus Research Program.

On June 30, the Committee on Appropriations’ Defense Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives passed their fiscal year 2022 Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill. Complete details of the legislation have now been released, and we are thrilled to report that the Subcommittee has once again included $10 million for the Lupus Research Program at the DOD!

This marks the third consecutive year that the Defense Subcommittee has supported $10 million for the Lupus Research Program, and if enacted into law, it would bring total funding for the Program to $45 million since the Program was established in 2017.

Since leading the effort to establish a lupus-specific research program through the DOD, securing continued funding for the Lupus Research Program has remained a critical focus of the Lupus Foundation of America’s advocacy agenda. Together with lupus advocates, we annually highlight the importance of the Lupus Research Program to members of Congress. 

At the 2021 Digital Lupus Advocacy Summit this past March, we held more than 300 congressional meetings to advocate for funding for the Lupus Research Program.  

We would like to thank the Congressional Lupus Caucus and its co-chairs, Representatives Bill Keating (D-MA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY). Additionally, we sincerely appreciate the leadership of Defense Subcommittee Chairman Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Ranking Member Ken Calvert (R-CA) as well as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX).

Next Steps

Now that the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill has been advanced by the Defense Subcommittee, it will next be considered by the full House Committee on Appropriations on July 13. Once passed by the full Committee, it will be considered by the House of Representatives later this year.

Additionally, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) advanced their fiscal year 2022 funding bill on July 12, and the full Committee will consider it on July 15. The LHHS appropriations bill includes funding for the National Lupus Patient Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the lupus program at the Office of Minority Health, and the National Institutes of Health, the largest public funder of lupus research in the world.

The Senate has yet to begin their work on fiscal year 2022 appropriations. To stay updated on these critical pieces of legislation as they move forward, sign up as a lupus advocate.