S. 4472: Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026

119th Congress · introduced 2026-04-30 · Health · Latest: Held at the desk.

AI-relatedfederal

Official title

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026

Plain summary

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026 This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and revises programs that support research and development of drugs and other therapies to address amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The bill reauthorizes grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for scientific research on investigational drugs to prevent or treat ALS for individuals not otherwise eligible for clinical trials, grants from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for research and development of therapies to prevent and treat ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases, and a Public-Private Partnership including the FDA and NIH that supports development and regulatory review of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Also, the bill revises the NIH grants to require (1) the NIH, in considering grant renewal, to assess available information on the safety and efficacy of the investigational drugs; (2) grantees to promptly report available safety data from ongoing clinical trials; and (3) the NIH to determine the timeframe for enrollment in clinical trials for the investigational drugs. Additionally, every five years, the FDA must publish a plan describing actions it will take over a five-year period to foster development of safe and effective drugs, and facilitate access to investigational drugs, for ALS and other rare neurodegenerative diseases. Each plan must include the FDA's previous actions and recommendations for improvements. Finally, the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Health and Human Services must report on the impacts of these grants.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act of 2026

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] · 15 cosponsors

Money: No cost estimate published yet. No linked contracts or vendors yet.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119s4472.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s>

Record fed-us-cong119-s4472 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills