June 5, 2018
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding
for FY2018
Members of Congress are frequently lobbied to add funding
Funding amounts for specific medical research areas are
to annual defense appropriation legislation for certain
listed below.
medical research programs on a wide variety of diseases
and topics. In addressing annual appropriations bills, many
Table 1. CDMRP Funding, FY2018
Members frequently wish to know enacted levels for such
(in millions of dol ars)
funding under the Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Programs (CDMRP).
Program Title
FY2018
CDMRP Administration and Funding
Peer Reviewed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Research
4.0
The CDMRP is a congressional appropriation to the
Department of Defense (DOD) explicitly for biomedical
Peer Reviewed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research
10.0
research in specific, congressionally identified health
Peer Reviewed Alzheimer Research
15.0
matters. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel
Peer Reviewed Autism Research
7.5
Command (USAMRMC) administers the CDMRP and is
responsible for awarding and managing competitive grants.
Peer Reviewed Bone Marrow Failure Research
3.0
Peer Reviewed Breast Cancer Research
130.0
Congress usually inserts CDMRP funding in the Defense
Peer Reviewed Cancer Research
80.0
Health Program’s Research, Development, Test, and
Peer Reviewed Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research
3.2
Evaluation (RDT&E) account in the annual DOD
Peer Reviewed Epilepsy Research
7.5
appropriation. CDMRP funding is not part of the
President’s budget request for overall RDT&E.
Peer Reviewed Gulf War Il ness Research
21.0
Congressional documents accompanying the annual defense
Peer Reviewed Hearing Restoration Research
10.0
appropriation act (i.e., conference reports or explanatory
Peer Reviewed Kidney Cancer Research
15.0
statements) identify the specific research areas.
Peer Reviewed Lung Cancer Research
14.0
Peer Reviewed Lupus Research
5.0
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-91),
Peer Reviewed Medical Research
330.0
inserted $1.38 billion into the RDT&E account for
Peer Reviewed Multiple Sclerosis Research
6.0
CDMRP. This amount comprised 68% of the overall
Defense Health Program’s RDT&E appropriation.
Peer Reviewed Orthopedic Research
30.0
Biomedical research conducted by the Defense Advanced
Peer Reviewed Ovarian Cancer Research
20.0
Research Projects Agency or other military research
Peer Reviewed Prostate Cancer Research
100.0
agencies is not reflected in this account.
Peer Reviewed Spinal Cord Injury Research
30.0
Peer Reviewed Reconstructive Transplant Research
12.0
Figure 1. Total Defense Health Program RDT&E
Peer Reviewed Tick-Borne Disease Research
5.0
Appropriation, FY2018
Peer Reviewed Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological
125.0
Health Research
Peer Reviewed Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research
6.0
Peer Reviewed Vision Research
15.0
Global HIV/AIDS Prevention
8.0
HIV/AIDS Program Increase
12.9
Joint Warfighter Medical Research
50.0
Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research
10.0
Trauma Clinical Research Program
10.0
Restore Core Program Funding
291
TOTAL 1,386.1
Source: U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
Explanatory Statement to P.L. 115-91, 115th Cong., 2018.
CDMRP Funding Requests
Source: U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
Explanatory Statement to P.L. 115-91, 115th Cong., 2018.
Members may request funding for medical research during
the annual defense appropriations process. The
appropriations committees typically send Members a
www.crs.gov | 7-5700
link to page 2 Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding for FY2018
memorandum with instructions for submitting requests.
Table 2. PRMRP-Eligible Conditions or Treatments,
Both House and Senate committee reports may specify
FY2018
associated funding levels, with the conference committee
Acute Lung Injury
Lung Injury
resolving differences.
Antimicrobial Resistance
Malaria
The medical research programs funded under the CDMRP
Arthritis
Metals Toxicology
are not static. Funding may be provided for conditions not
Burn Pit Exposure
Mitochondrial Disease
funded in previous years. For example, funding for tick-
borne disease research was provided in FY2016-FY2018,
Cardiomyopathy
Musculoskeletal Disorders
but no associated funds were provided in FY2015.
Cerebel ar Ataxia
Myotonic Dystrophy
Program Announcements and Awards
Chronic Migraine and Post-
Traumatic Headache
Non-Opioid Pain Management
CDMRP issues program announcements to alert researchers
to grant opportunities. The program announcements include
Chronic Pain Management
Nutrition Optimization
detailed descriptions of funding mechanisms, evaluation
Congenital Heart Disease
Pancreatitis
criteria, submission requirements, and deadlines. Program
Pathogen-Inactivated Blood
announcements may be downloaded from the Grants.gov
Constrictive Bronchiolitis
Products
website, or the CDMRP website (http://cdmrp.army.mil/).
Diabetes
Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis
Grant awards and related publications may be searched or
Dystonia
Pressure Ulcers
downloaded from a database available at the CDMRP
Eating Disorders
Pulmonary Fibrosis
website. In addition, the CDMRP website provides links to
Emerging Infectious Diseases
Respiratory Health
brochures about individual research programs providing
more detailed information. Annual reports may be accessed
Endometriosis
Rett Syndrome
through the CDMRP website as well.
Epidermolysis Bul osa
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program
Focal Segmental
Scleroderma
Glomerulosclerosis
The program with the highest annual funding level under
the CDMRP is generally the Peer Reviewed Medical
Fragile X
Sleep Disorders
Research Program (PRMRP).
Frontotemporal Degeneration
Spinal Muscular Atrophy
PRMRP funding supports grants for medical research on a
Guil ain-Barre Syndrome
Sustained-Released Drug Delivery
number of specified conditions or treatment modalities. The
Hepatitis B and C
Tinnitus
annual list of eligible conditions or treatments typically
Hereditary Angioedema
Tissue Regeneration
includes a few changes from year to year as medical
research priorities shift.
Hydrocephalus
Tuberculosis
For example, research on burn pit exposure was eligible for
Immunomonitoring of Intestinal
Vaccine Development for
Transplants
Infectious Disease
funding in FY2017 and FY2018, but was not eligible for
funding in FY2016. Nevertheless, an investigator interested
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Vascular Malformations
in burn pit exposure-related research could have submitted
Interstitial Cystitis
Women’s Heart Disease
FY2016 grant applications for related eligible topics such as
Source: U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
respiratory health, constrictive bronchiolitis, and pulmonary
Explanatory Statement to P.L. 115-91, 115th Cong., 2018.
fibrosis.
FY2018 PRMRP Funding
Bryce H. P. Mendez, bhmendez@crs.loc.gov, 7-1577
For FY2018, the Explanatory Statement to the Consolidated
Heidi M. Peters, hpeters@crs.loc.gov, 7-0702
Appropriations Act, 2018 (see page H2383 of the March
IF10349
22, 2018 Congressional Record) specified:
The agreement provides $330,000,000 for a peer-
reviewed medical research program. The Secretary of
Defense, in conjunction with the Service Surgeons
General, is directed to select medical research projects
of clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military
health…The additional funding provided under the peer-
reviewed medical research program shall be devoted
only to the purposes listed above.
Table 2 lists all 52 conditions or treatments eligible for
FY2018 PRMRP funding.
www.crs.gov | 7-5700