Members of Congress are frequently lobbied to add funding to annual defense appropriation legislation for certain medical research programs on a wide variety of diseases and topics. In addressing annual appropriations bills, Members frequently seek information on enacted levels for such funding under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

CDMRP Administration and Funding

The CDMRP is a Department of Defense (DOD), which is "using a secondary Department of War designation" under Executive Order 14347 dated September 5, 2025, program that receives congressional appropriations explicitly for biomedical research in specific, congressionally identified health matters. As such, it has not been part of the President's budget request for DOD. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), with oversight from the Defense Health Agency, administers the CDMRP and is responsible for awarding and managing competitive grants.

Congress typically inserts CDMRP funding as Undistributed Medical Research in the Defense Health Program's Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (DHP RDT&E) account in the annual DOD appropriation. Congressional documents accompanying the annual defense appropriation act (i.e., conference report or explanatory statement) typically identify the specific research areas for a given fiscal year.

Division A, Title VI, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75), inserted $1.27 billion into the RDT&E account for CDMRP. This amount comprises 51% of the overall DHP RDT&E, as reflected in Figure 1. Biomedical research conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or other military research agencies is not included in this account.

Table 1 lists the FY2026 CDMRP funding amounts for specific medical research areas.

CDMRP Funding Requests

Members may request funding for medical research during the annual defense appropriations process. The appropriations committees typically send Members a memorandum with instructions for submitting requests. Both House and Senate committee reports may specify funding associated with certain research. An exchange of amendments between the houses (or a conference committee) typically resolves any differences between the committee reports.

The medical research programs funded under the CDMRP are not static. Funding may be provided for conditions not funded in previous years. For example, funding for tick-borne disease research was provided in FY2016-FY2020, but no associated funds were provided in FY2015.

Figure 1. Total DHP RDT&E Appropriation, FY2026

Source: CRS analysis of Division A, Title VI, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75).

Program Announcements and Awards

USAMRDC issues periodic program announcements to alert researchers of CDMRP grant opportunities. The program announcements include detailed descriptions of funding mechanisms, evaluation criteria, submission requirements, and deadlines. Program announcements are listed on the Grants.gov website. The CDMRP website (https://cdmrp.health.mil) also lists program announcements, information on awarded grants and other resources such as related publications, brochures about individual research programs, and annual reports.

Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program

Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) funding supports grants for medical research on various cancers and related treatments. For FY2026, Congress appropriated $165 million for the PRCRP, separate from other CDMRP funding for breast, glioblastoma, kidney, lung, melanoma, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and rare cancers..

Table 2 lists 20 cancers and treatments eligible for FY2026 PRCRP funding.

Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program

The program with the highest annual funding level under the CDMRP is generally the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). For FY2026, Congress appropriated $370 million for the PRMRP. PRMRP funding supports grants for medical research on a number of conditions or treatment modalities that are of "clear scientific merit and direct relevance to military health." Congress specifies an annual list of eligible conditions or treatments that typically includes a few changes from year to year as medical research priorities shift. Table 3 lists 52 conditions or treatments eligible for FY2026 PRMRP funding.