Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for Als Reauthorization Act of 2026
The House debated H.R. 8205, which reauthorizes through fiscal year 2031 the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, funding NIH and FDA programs for ALS research, expanded access to investigational treatments, and a public-private partnership for neurodegenerative disease therapies. Members from both parties spoke in support: Guthrie and Calvert said the programs help fund research and treatments for ALS, and DeGette noted the disease affects about 5,000 Americans each year. Quigley described his constituent Brian Wallach, diagnosed with ALS, and Guthrie recalled constituents from his district affected by the disease. The debate was brief and bipartisan, focused on passing the reauthorization.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .
“I am asking the House to pass this bill to keep funding research and treatments for ALS.”
“Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8205) to amend the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act to reauthorize the provisions of such Act through fiscal year 2031, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8205) to amend the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act to reauthorize the provisions of such Act through fiscal year 2031, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows:
“I want the House to pass this bill. It keeps funding research to find treatments for ALS and similar brain diseases.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8205 led by my colleagues, Representative Quigley and Representative Calvert. H.R. 8205 reauthorizes the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act, which has supported critical research and development for ALS therapies. The ACT for ALS program has worked to expand access to key therapies for both individuals with ALS and those with other rare neurodegenerative conditions. It is imperative that we pass this bill today to continue advancing research and therapeutic development in the fight against this disease. To my fellow Americans living with ALS and their caregivers, Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to let them know that I recognize their resilience and their commitment to a better future for themselves and other patients with ALS. Mr. Speaker, I want them to know that I stand with them, and I ask that my colleagues do the same. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8205 led by my colleagues, Representative Quigley and Representative Calvert. H.R. 8205 reauthorizes the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Reauthorization Act, which has supported critical research and development for ALS therapies. The ACT for ALS program has worked to expand access to key therapies for both individuals with ALS and those with other rare neurodegenerative conditions. It is imperative that we pass this bill today to continue advancing research and therapeutic development in the fight against this disease. To my fellow Americans living with ALS and their caregivers, Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to let them know that I recognize their resilience and their commitment to a better future for themselves and other patients with ALS. Mr. Speaker, I want them to know that I stand with them, and I ask that my colleagues do the same. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
“I want the House to pass this bill. It keeps funding research to find a cure for ALS and helps patients get new treatments.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, about 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS every year. It is a disease that causes the nervous system to stop working and die, leading to muscle weakness and eventually paralysis. Essentially, when someone gets the diagnosis, it is a death sentence. I am all too familiar with this disease and its rapid progression because in 1996, I lost my father-in-law to ALS. The original Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act passed in 2021 and unleashed incredible Federal resources to improve our understanding of this relentless disease in search of a cure. It revolutionized the way FDA uses real-world evidence to foster the development of ALS therapeutics and gave patients a chance to try investigational drugs for rare neurodegenerative diseases. We have the opportunity today to ensure ALS patients can continue to access promising new therapies, and our preeminent biomedical research institutions can continue to work towards a cure. This reauthorization will provide the continuing statutory basis for the great work that the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act began, and it couldn’t come at a better moment. We have seen immense research progress in the 5 years since passage. Health Subcommittee members here today heard from Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya in our hearing on this bill a few months ago when they told us with no uncertainty how important it is for people facing down this cruel disease that we keep this momentum going. Brian and Sandra are an inspiration to all of us and to people everywhere who are seeking cures for these terrible diseases. I want to tell Congressman Mike Quigley that his unwavering leadership on the original Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act and this reauthorization is saving and improving lives. I thank them for putting us on the path of finding a cure for ALS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley), who is the sponsor of this bill.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, about 5,000 Americans are diagnosed with ALS every year. It is a disease that causes the nervous system to stop working and die, leading to muscle weakness and eventually paralysis. Essentially, when someone gets the diagnosis, it is a death sentence. I am all too familiar with this disease and its rapid progression because in 1996, I lost my father-in-law to ALS. The original Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act passed in 2021 and unleashed incredible Federal resources to improve our understanding of this relentless disease in search of a cure. It revolutionized the way FDA uses real-world evidence to foster the development of ALS therapeutics and gave patients a chance to try investigational drugs for rare neurodegenerative diseases. We have the opportunity today to ensure ALS patients can continue to access promising new therapies, and our preeminent biomedical research institutions can continue to work towards a cure. This reauthorization will provide the continuing statutory basis for the great work that the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act began, and it couldn’t come at a better moment. We have seen immense research progress in the 5 years since passage. Health Subcommittee members here today heard from Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya in our hearing on this bill a few months ago when they told us with no uncertainty how important it is for people facing down this cruel disease that we keep this momentum going. Brian and Sandra are an inspiration to all of us and to people everywhere who are seeking cures for these terrible diseases. I want to tell Congressman Mike Quigley that his unwavering leadership on the original Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act and this reauthorization is saving and improving lives. I thank them for putting us on the path of finding a cure for ALS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley), who is the sponsor of this bill.
“I want the House to pass this bill. It keeps funding research and treatments for ALS for five more years.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado for her kind remarks. Mr. Speaker, several years ago, a Chicagoan named Brian Wallach came to my office and shared the fact that he was just diagnosed with ALS, a devastating disease that steals a person’s ability to move or speak. The average life expectancy at the time with someone diagnosed with ALS was 2 to 5 years. When Brian came to visit us in Congress, that was the reality he was facing. He cofounded an organization called I AM ALS with his wife, Sandra Abrevaya. Sandra’s life changed overnight, too when she became an ALS caretaker. Since then, she cofounded a company to improve the care of people living with ALS. This awe-inspiring couple came to my office with a big idea to advance ALS research and access to treatments. After meeting with Brian and Sandra, I was convinced that ALS was not incurable. The research was just underfunded. I was moved by their dedication to each other and the cause. Like too many families across the country, my family has been touched by neurodegenerative disease. I lost my father to Parkinson’s. However, since I started working on the first Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, there hasn’t been one Member of Congress whom I talked to who didn’t have a personal story or know the impact of one of these diseases. Our bipartisan work on the first Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act broke through the bitter politics that can divide this place. I believe we have the opportunity to do that again today. In the last 5 years, ACT for ALS programs have helped people living with ALS to access promising therapies. They have created new methods for researchers to share their work and sustain critical natural history studies. Since we passed the first bill 5 years ago, we have been able to secure over $350 million in Federal funding for these programs. Today, we are voting on a bill to extend these programs for 5 more years. To everyone living with ALS who has advocated for this bill, I hope today’s vote shows that Congress hears you and we are here for you and that, every once in a while, we break through. At those moments, I am proud to serve here. To Brian who is still with us fighting the disease and Sandra: Thank you for your tireless advocacy and big dreams. Finally, I thank Representative Ken Calvert for his work on this with me in the House, and Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Murkowski for their work in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.’’”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Colorado for her kind remarks. Mr. Speaker, several years ago, a Chicagoan named Brian Wallach came to my office and shared the fact that he was just diagnosed with ALS, a devastating disease that steals a person’s ability to move or speak. The average life expectancy at the time with someone diagnosed with ALS was 2 to 5 years. When Brian came to visit us in Congress, that was the reality he was facing. He cofounded an organization called I AM ALS with his wife, Sandra Abrevaya. Sandra’s life changed overnight, too when she became an ALS caretaker. Since then, she cofounded a company to improve the care of people living with ALS. This awe-inspiring couple came to my office with a big idea to advance ALS research and access to treatments. After meeting with Brian and Sandra, I was convinced that ALS was not incurable. The research was just underfunded. I was moved by their dedication to each other and the cause. Like too many families across the country, my family has been touched by neurodegenerative disease. I lost my father to Parkinson’s. However, since I started working on the first Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, there hasn’t been one Member of Congress whom I talked to who didn’t have a personal story or know the impact of one of these diseases. Our bipartisan work on the first Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act broke through the bitter politics that can divide this place. I believe we have the opportunity to do that again today. In the last 5 years, ACT for ALS programs have helped people living with ALS to access promising therapies. They have created new methods for researchers to share their work and sustain critical natural history studies. Since we passed the first bill 5 years ago, we have been able to secure over $350 million in Federal funding for these programs. Today, we are voting on a bill to extend these programs for 5 more years. To everyone living with ALS who has advocated for this bill, I hope today’s vote shows that Congress hears you and we are here for you and that, every once in a while, we break through. At those moments, I am proud to serve here. To Brian who is still with us fighting the disease and Sandra: Thank you for your tireless advocacy and big dreams. Finally, I thank Representative Ken Calvert for his work on this with me in the House, and Senators Chris Coons and Lisa Murkowski for their work in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.’’
“I want everyone to vote for this bill. It helps fund research and treatments for ALS, which is important to families I have met in my district.”
“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will mention Brian and Sandra testified before our committee. When I was first elected to Congress, the Ensor family from Bullitt County, Kentucky, came to see me, and I got to know Mitch. I went to his funeral services, unfortunately. I was touched by his family, which is why this bill is important to me. Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage everybody to vote for this bill. There may be a procedural call on this bill. This bill will pass this week. I look forward to seeing it pass, being sent to the Senate, and hopefully signed into law very soon. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I will mention Brian and Sandra testified before our committee. When I was first elected to Congress, the Ensor family from Bullitt County, Kentucky, came to see me, and I got to know Mitch. I went to his funeral services, unfortunately. I was touched by his family, which is why this bill is important to me. Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage everybody to vote for this bill. There may be a procedural call on this bill. This bill will pass this week. I look forward to seeing it pass, being sent to the Senate, and hopefully signed into law very soon. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
“I want the House to pass this bill. It keeps funding research to find treatments and a cure for ALS.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the ACT for ALS Reauthorization Act, H.R. 8205, legislation that will reauthorize programs that support research and development of drugs and other therapies to address ALS. It is hard to believe, but the original ACT for ALS Act was signed into law a little less than five years ago. As a Co-Chair of the bipartisan ALS Caucus, I saw first-hand the effort to get that landmark legislation across the finish line was the result of the passion and detepnination of the ALS advocacy community. The passage of the ACT for ALS Act authorized key programs to expand access to new investigational drugs and grants for research of this terrible disease. Working with my Appropriations Committee colleagues, the ALS Caucus, and ALS advocates, we have been successful at making historic investments into these programs. In Fiscal Year 2022, Congress invested nearly $30 million in ACT for ALS programs. That number increased nearly 200 percent in Fiscal Year 2025 to $86 million--nearly matching the $100 million authorization cap enshrined into law. Since the initial passge, the law has demonstrably sped infrastructure, access, and targeted progress. By reauthorizing the ACT for ALS, the trajectory is hopeful due to better tools, data, and collaboration. ALS patients and families are relying on us not to lose momentum and to build upon hopeful progress and someday find a cure for this devastating illness. I want to thank my ALS Caucus Members, including the bill’s sponsor Representative Quigley, for their work. I want to give my heartfelt appreciation, once again, to the ALS advocacy community and the families who have been forever changed by ALS. I urge all of my colleagues to stand with these families, give them hope, and pass the ACT for ALS Reauthorization Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yakym). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8205, as amended. The question was taken.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the ACT for ALS Reauthorization Act, H.R. 8205, legislation that will reauthorize programs that support research and development of drugs and other therapies to address ALS. It is hard to believe, but the original ACT for ALS Act was signed into law a little less than five years ago. As a Co-Chair of the bipartisan ALS Caucus, I saw first-hand the effort to get that landmark legislation across the finish line was the result of the passion and detepnination of the ALS advocacy community. The passage of the ACT for ALS Act authorized key programs to expand access to new investigational drugs and grants for research of this terrible disease. Working with my Appropriations Committee colleagues, the ALS Caucus, and ALS advocates, we have been successful at making historic investments into these programs. In Fiscal Year 2022, Congress invested nearly $30 million in ACT for ALS programs. That number increased nearly 200 percent in Fiscal Year 2025 to $86 million--nearly matching the $100 million authorization cap enshrined into law. Since the initial passge, the law has demonstrably sped infrastructure, access, and targeted progress. By reauthorizing the ACT for ALS, the trajectory is hopeful due to better tools, data, and collaboration. ALS patients and families are relying on us not to lose momentum and to build upon hopeful progress and someday find a cure for this devastating illness. I want to thank my ALS Caucus Members, including the bill’s sponsor Representative Quigley, for their work. I want to give my heartfelt appreciation, once again, to the ALS advocacy community and the families who have been forever changed by ALS. I urge all of my colleagues to stand with these families, give them hope, and pass the ACT for ALS Reauthorization Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yakym). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8205, as amended. The question was taken.
