Guest Voice: Funding cuts for MS research tamper with our hope
US lawmakers continue to eliminate funding for key disease research programs
MS patient and advocate Denise Schnieders is sounding the alarm over federal budget cuts that will hinder the development of new treatments. (Courtesy of Denise Schnieders)
Denise Schnieders is a wife, mom, teacher, volleyball coach, and passionate advocate living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Since her diagnosis, she’s become a powerful voice in the MS community, raising awareness, advocating for better healthcare policy, and pushing for more research funding. Through her platform, MSdopaminedressed, Schnieders shares the realities of life with MS, proving that chronic illness may slow her down, but it will never silence her voice or steal her fight.
I live with multiple sclerosis. That sentence carries the weight of uncertainty, daily physical challenges, and the emotional strain of navigating a chronic and often invisible illness. But for years, it’s also been accompanied by something more powerful: hope. Hope powered by science, relentless researchers, and progress made possible by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program, part of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).
Denise Schnieders attends the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., coordinated with Hill Day 2025, in late March. (Photo by Denise Schnieders)
Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for MS in 1993, an MS diagnosis meant uncertainty, fear, and a lack of options. Patients were often told to “wait and see.”
The development of the more than 20 DMTs that currently exist came in large part through funding from the NIH. In the past 30 years, these therapies have transformed an MS diagnosis by reducing relapses and delaying disability. And every DMT is the direct result of decades of research and advocacy.
Research turned the tide for MS, transforming a diagnosis once filled with fear into one fueled by hope, which is proof that investing in science can create a future that patients can believe in.
But that hope was dealt a devastating blow earlier this year. In March, Congress passed a 2025 spending bill (called a continuing resolution) that cut over half of the funding of the CDMRP, including the entirety of funding for the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program. The NIH is facing additional cuts in the 2026 budget, which could further limit its ability to help fund the CDMRP.
These decisions undermine decades of progress and directly affect more than 1 million people living with MS in the United States. The Multiple Sclerosis Research Program wasn’t just a line item. It was a lifeline.
Treatments have changed the course of this disease for people like me, slowing progression, reducing relapses, and helping preserve independence.
MS doesn’t pause when funding dries up. It continues its assault on the brain and spinal cord, and without continued research, we’ll fall behind. These cuts don’t just delay progress; they delay hope. They stall innovation. They tell people with MS that our futures are expendable.
It’s not too late to act. The 2026 fiscal year is on the horizon, and we must fight to reinstate these essential programs. We must show our elected officials that real lives are on the line, and research isn’t optional. It’s urgent and necessary.
To those in power: Restore funding to the Multiple Sclerosis Research Program now. Reinvest in our future. Give back hope to those of us who need it more than ever. Without research, there is no progress. And without progress, there is no cure.
To submit your own Guest Voice for publication on Multiple Sclerosis News Today, please email your idea to our columns manager at [email protected] with the following included in the subject line: “Guest Voice: Multiple Sclerosis News Today.”
Advocates for patients, caregivers, and families living with multiple sclerosis gather for a group photo during the Hill Day policy conference in March. The color orange symbolizes MS awareness. (Courtesy of Denise Schnieders)
About the Author
Cheryl U
I hope Americans use their voice in this funding fight through the election process! I think it’s the only avenue to change. ♥️
Stephanie Billings
Denise or to whoever will receive this response. I totally agree with your assessment of the research for MS. I have talked to a number of doctors on this issue and they all see it has a huge setback for finding a cure or new treatments. I was diagnosed in 2018 and have PPMS. Fortunately it has been held at bay by Ocrevus however, I am starting to progress and I am now in pain almost every day. I have sent emails to my representatives but I live in Idaho and I’m sure they never received my concerns. When someone cuts funds like this they have no idea what they are doing to the people who have to deal with chronic diseases go through. A bit of education on their part and common sense on cutting funds should have been considered. However, this was done with no thought to those people with diseases they are currently without a cure, or how to cut funds in areas where lifelines for people could’ve been avoided. Hopefully, the funding will be reinstated.
Denise Schnieders
Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your advocacy efforts. I hear your frustration, and I feel it too. It’s disheartening when it seems like our voices fall into a void, but I want to encourage you to keep going. Every email, every call, every story matters. You never know which one will be the tipping point.
PPMS is such a tough road, and I’m sorry to hear about the progression and the daily pain. It’s exactly why funding for research is so critical; not just for hope, but for tangible options. You’re absolutely right: these decisions are being made without full awareness of their human impact, and that has to change.
Please don’t give up. Keep emailing, keep calling, even if it feels like no one’s listening. I’ll be doing the same. We need to be loud, persistent, and united. Your voice matters. You matter.
Patricia Buckles
The University of Chicago researchers discovered the MS inverse vaccine that stops and reverses ms. We need to see more discussion of this incredible scientific discovery!