Senate Passes Legislation for Lupus Research Funding

We are excited to share that the U.S. Senate today passed legislation that includes major funding for lupus research programs. The legislation combined the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHS) bill with the U.S. House of Representatives-passed Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Defense spending bill, which the House voted to approve in June.

The spending package passed today provides critical lupus-specific research funding stimulated by the Lupus Foundation of America and its national network of advocates, including:

• $5 million in funding for the Lupus Research Program at the DoD 
• $7.5 million in funding for the National Lupus Registry program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a $1 million increase from FY2018
• $2 billion increase in funding for the NIH, which is expected to provide nearly $110 million for lupus research in FY 2019
• $2 million for the Office of Minority Health's National Health Education Lupus Program

The increased and continued funding reflects the hard work and continued year-round outreach of lupus advocates to contact their elected officials and urge them to increase support for these critical lupus research programs, including during the Foundation’s annual Advocacy Summit.

Next Steps

Now that the Senate has completed their work on the DoD and LHHS Appropriations bills, we anticipate that the House and Senate will move forward together to complete the legislative process and pass a final spending package that increases funding for lupus programs.

Stay tuned for additional details on the final spending package, including if further advocacy efforts and outreach to Congress will be necessary. In the meantime, please take a moment to sign up to become a lupus advocate and help us to continue to make a difference.