The Federal Budget that passed on Friday, March 14, 2025 cut 57% - approximately $850 million - out of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). This is a Department of Defense agency that funds biomedical research programs, including spinal cord injury. Those cuts included the complete elimination of the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP)…or about $40 million this year. That’s $40 million GONE, right now!
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Contact your Congressional members today and ask them to restore funding to SCIRP
Spinal Cord Injury/Disease is already among the most under-funded, under researched conditions in existence. Yet is considered among the WORST conditions to live with by the WHO. This program (CDMRP SCIRP), run by the Department of Defense and responsible for medical research and development for the warfighter and US citizens, accounted for roughly 1/3 of the dollars that funded Spinal Cord Injury Research in the US.
And now it’s gone. So please: contact your Congressional members today and ask them to restore funding to SCIRP!
Bi-weekly Strategy Updates
Below is a public document that briefly summarizes key meetings with congressional leaders in our efforts to restore cuts made to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program (SCIRP).
This is a live document that is updated regularly, with the most recent updates listed at the top.
Take More Action
Use these resources to educate yourself on the value of SCIRP. Then share them with your congressional members, friends, family and faith communities. We need every voice to speak up and speak out!
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Download our legislative fact sheet to share with your congressional representatives.
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Download our advocate fact sheet to use and share with your friends, family and co-workers.
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Share our latest Instagram post with your followers. Every new voice helps!
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Read SCIRP's Impact Report
When congress passed H.R. 1968, a Continuing Resolution funding bill, they decided that SCIRP was not worth the taxpayers dollar.
SCIRP was .005% of the Department of Defense budget. It was supporting ground-breaking research, moving science from the lab into the clinic. It was fast tracking research to help us breath on our own, mitigate unbearable nerve pain and regain independence. It was responsible for the development of field-deployable technologies to treat our soldiers after trauma.
This program was not partisan. It was practical. It was productive. And we do not have the luxury to sit idly by and loose what has been fought so hard for.
Latest Articles
Read articles from U2FP and other outlets on the impact of SCIRP and why these cuts must be reversed.
Shortly after we successfully defended cuts to our Minnesota SCI Research bill, I wrote up a brief reflection and pitched it to a few media outlets here in Minnesota, trying to get some attention on the SCI community’s success at guiding research funding that works. One outlet, the Minnesota Reformer, accepted it and...
A little over a month ago, U2FP held our first annual gala and silent auction at The Bird’s Nest Cafe in Estes Park, Colorado. This gathering couldn’t have come at a more critical time, as research dollars are being zeroed out and labs that are working on functional recovery treatments are struggling to stay open. (See our recent article on the 40 million dollar Department of Defense Spinal Cord Injury Research Program ‘SCIRP’ cuts.)...
So here’s the thing. This whole effort to cure paralysis is a team game, not a hero’s journey. Everyone has a role to play. We’re in a tough but critical moment of ‘the SCI playoffs’ with our team’s future riding perilously on the outcome...
