Moments ago, the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives passed their fiscal year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations bill and included $22 million in funding for lupus programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the HHS Office of Minority Health.

The Committee has demonstrated their strong commitment to funding lupus priorities, including a historic doubling of the National Lupus Patient Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calling for $20 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, a $10 million dollar increase over FY 2024. The bill also includes an additional $2 million for the National Lupus Training, Outreach, and Clinical Trial Education Program at the Office of Minority Health (OMH).

If enacted into law, total funding for the National Lupus Patient Registry would reach more than $131 million since the Lupus Foundation of America and lupus advocates from across the country led the fight to create the program in 2003. Congress’s investment in the program will help advance our understanding of who gets lupus and how it affects those living with it. The program also plays a critical role in raising awareness of lupus among the public and medical community and educating them about the signs and symptoms of lupus, which can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Moreover, the program is supporting self-management initiatives that can improve lupus outcomes and the quality of life of those living with lupus.

Funding for the lupus program at OMH also is critically important and is supporting efforts across the country to increase minority participation in lupus clinical trials, which is essential to the development of safe and effective treatments for lupus.

The Lupus Foundation of America continues to work closely with Congress and our champions leading the Congressional Lupus Caucus to build support for this funding. Increasing the Lupus Foundation of America’s reach and impact, the grassroots advocacy of lupus warriors across the country is what makes the most difference. This May, more than 300 lupus advocates met with members of Congress during our National Lupus Advocacy Summit and urged Congress to increase funding for these critical programs. Thousands of others reinforced their message via emails delivered to Capitol Hill. It’s clear their voices were heard!

We thank the Congressional Lupus Caucus and its co-chairs, Representatives Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Bill Keating (D-MA) for their leadership and continued support for lupus priorities on Capitol Hill. Additionally, we sincerely appreciate the leadership of Labor, HHS Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderhold (R-AL) and Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

Next Steps

While this legislation is an important victory, several steps remain in the legislative process before it becomes law, including a vote by the full House of Representatives and consideration of the bill in the Senate. To ensure you don’t miss a future update or opportunity to reach out to your members of Congress to urge them to support this funding, please sign up as a lupus advocate!