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June 5, 2018
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Funding
for FY2018
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, many
Members frequently wish to know enacted levels for such
funding under the Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Programs (CDMRP).
CDMRP Administration and Funding
The CDMRP is a congressional appropriation to the
Department of Defense (DOD) explicitly for biomedical
research in specific, congressionally identified health
matters. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel
Command (USAMRMC) administers the CDMRP and is
responsible for awarding and managing competitive grants.
Congress usually inserts CDMRP funding in the Defense
Health Program’s Research, Development, Test, and
Evaluation (RDT&E) account in the annual DOD
appropriation. CDMRP funding is not part of the
President’s budget request for overall RDT&E.
Congressional documents accompanying the annual defense
appropriation act (i.e., conference reports or explanatory
statements) identify the specific research areas.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-91),
inserted $1.38 billion into the RDT&E account for
CDMRP. This amount comprised 68% of the overall
Defense Health Program’s RDT&E appropriation.
Biomedical research conducted by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency or other military research
agencies is not reflected in this account.
Figure 1. Total Defense Health Program RDT&E
Appropriation, FY2018
Source: U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
Explanatory Statement to P.L. 115-91, 115th Cong., 2018.
Funding amounts for specific medical research areas are
listed below.
Table 1. CDMRP Funding, FY2018
(in millions of dollars)
Peer Reviewed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Research
Peer Reviewed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research
Peer Reviewed Alzheimer Research
Peer Reviewed Autism Research
Peer Reviewed Bone Marrow Failure Research
Peer Reviewed Breast Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research
Peer Reviewed Epilepsy Research
Peer Reviewed Gulf War Illness Research
Peer Reviewed Hearing Restoration Research
Peer Reviewed Kidney Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Lung Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Lupus Research
Peer Reviewed Medical Research
Peer Reviewed Multiple Sclerosis Research
Peer Reviewed Orthopedic Research
Peer Reviewed Ovarian Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Prostate Cancer Research
Peer Reviewed Spinal Cord Injury Research
Peer Reviewed Reconstructive Transplant Research
Peer Reviewed Tick-Borne Disease Research
Peer Reviewed Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological
Health Research
Peer Reviewed Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Research
Peer Reviewed Vision Research
Global HIV/AIDS Prevention
HIV/AIDS Program Increase
Joint Warfighter Medical Research
Orthotics and Prosthetics Outcomes Research
Trauma Clinical Research Program
Restore Core Program Funding
Source: U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations,
Explanatory Statement to P.L. 115-91, 115th Cong., 2018.
CDMRP Funding Requests
Members may request funding for medical research during
the annual defense appropriations process. The
appropriations committees typically send Members a
