In 2025, the Trump administration proposed and initiated historic cuts to major federal science agencies. While recent legislative and judicial actions have curtailed some of these efforts, it is clear that the nation’s scientific infrastructure continues to be vulnerable to political and budgetary decisions.
Nearly every person treated for breast cancer over the past several decades has benefited from federal investment in medical research. Federal funding drives innovation that saves lives and improves health outcomes. Disrupting this system by cancelling or freezing grants wastes taxpayer dollars and puts patients at risk.
Interruptions to ongoing research—particularly active clinical trials—can invalidate years of work, delay or eliminate access to promising therapies, and compromise patient safety. Policies that restrict funding for meritorious research going forward will result in lost opportunities, stalled innovation, and lives lost.
The peer-reviewed, evidence-based processes that govern federal research funding are essential to ensuring scientific rigor, objectivity, and public trust. These safeguards must remain intact to prevent political interference and ensure that funding decisions are driven by scientific merit and patient need.
Scientific breakthroughs generated by federally supported research are responsible for many of the gains in health and longevity achieved in the United States over the last century.
In breast cancer alone, federally funded research has led to the development of targeted therapies for specific types of breast cancer, like HER2-positive breast cancer, BRCA-related cancers, and some triple-negative breast cancers, among others.
Proposed federal cuts and changes to the scientific infrastructure and policies will erase decades of progress in medical research that improves patient health and well-being and saves lives. They will undermine progress on innovative research to develop treatments and cures for patients across the country and around the world and eliminate opportunities for top talent to pursue careers that lead to the next groundbreaking research discoveries.
The impact of federally supported research is clear. Continued federal investment is essential to build on this momentum and bring even more transformative treatments and cures to the people who need them most.
