On May 14, NAVREF and the Friends of VA Research (FOVA) co-hosted the Veterans Research Symposium: Advancing Discovery for Those Who Served at the Capitol Visitors Center. Less than 24 hours later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Appropriations Act, 2027 that directly addressed what the room had spent the day fighting for.
The bipartisan amendment, championed by Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA-46) and Jack Bergman (R-MI-01), highlighted the importance of sustaining funding for VA medical research and is a direct response to a proposed $45 million cut to the VA Medical and Prosthetics Research account in the FY2027 bill. That account funds research on cancer, traumatic brain injury, prosthetics, psychedelic-assisted therapies for PTSD, and decades of other innovation that has transformed medicine not just for veterans, but for all Americans.
Rep. Correa was among those who joined NAVREF and FOVA at the Symposium the day before the vote.
The Symposium convened researchers, clinicians, advocates, and policymakers around a simple but urgent argument: veterans' research is not optional. It is how America fulfills its obligation to understand, prevent, and treat the conditions borne by those who serve.
MITRE participating in the Research Showcase
Panels explored new frontiers in mental health therapeutics, precision medicine and cancer care, and the future of veterans' research — including a presentation on the ProGRESS study, a clinical trial using data from VA's Million Veteran Program to develop precision prostate cancer screening, with more than 3,000 veterans already enrolled across every U.S. state and territory. This is exactly the kind of work that depends on stable funding and the infrastructure that NPCs provide.
Left to Right: Rashi Romanoff, Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Dr. Manish Agrawal
NAVREF also used the Symposium to underscore a critical data point: NPCs bring in 1 of every 4 dollars invested in veterans' research. The $350 million administered annually by VA-affiliated nonprofits doesn't come from the federal budget — it is leveraged from NIH, pharmaceutical companies, foundations, and other external partners. Cut the infrastructure that makes that possible and you don't just lose the infrastructure. You lose the funding it unlocks.
Left to Right: Hawk Tran, Rep. Lou Correa (CA-46), Rashi Romanoff
NAVREF CEO Rashi Romanoff said it plainly after the amendment passed:
"NAVREF commends Representatives Lou Correa and Jack Bergman on championing the restoration of funding for VA Medical and Prosthetics Research. Their leadership sends a powerful message: That America must continue investing in the scientists, clinicians, and discoveries that honor veterans not just with words, but with action. We urge other Members of Congress to move swiftly and support VA research as a national asset."
The work isn't finished. The Senate must still act, and NAVREF will continue pushing for full restoration of VA research funding, protection of the negotiated indirect cost rate process, and accountability for VA's ongoing research hiring crisis. But May 14 and 15 were proof that showing up matters — and that when the veterans' research community speaks with one voice, Congress listens.
