As Trump Administration Looks to Cut Critical Medical Research Grants, Prop 38 Offers a Path to Life-Saving Cures

White House threatens to tighten political control over NIH funding, raising urgent concerns among scientists and about the future of life-saving research.

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES, September 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As reported by The New York Times, the White House has begun drafting a new executive order that could further cement President Trump’s ability to control billions of dollars in critical scientific grants via the National Institutes of Health (NIH). YES on Proposition 38, the Immunology Medical Research & Cures Initiative campaign, provides voters the opportunity to continue life-saving research that will accelerate cures for families and patients facing cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and more.

"As a researcher whose work was stopped in its tracks by funding cuts, I know firsthand that sustained investment in immunology is essential to delivering the next generation of life-saving treatments," said Jillian McCool, Ph.D., Biological Researcher and Immunologist. “Prop 38 will create a new, reliable source of funding so California can take the lead in medical research and move the promise of these cures forward.”

Prop 38 will provide $8.4 billion of vitally needed funding to advance immunology research to help prevent and treat cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and other persistent diseases. Immunotherapies harness the body's own immune system to prevent and cure diseases, and they are already successfully treating patients with melanoma, lung cancer, leukemia and lymphoma.

Scientists are also studying how immunology could create new treatments for diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and heart disease. Prop 38 will fund the next generation of this groundbreaking research for other devastating diseases, like diabetes, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.
Prop 38 represents a new approach to medical research funding, creating a collaborative statewide network that combines competitive research grants with a world-class immunology institute designed to help turn discoveries into life-saving treatments and cures. Half of the funding will support competitive grants at California universities and nonprofit research institutions, while the other half will support a nonprofit immunology institute affiliated with the University of California that can bring together leading scientists, technology, laboratories, patients and clinical trials.

Prop 38 is designed to pay for itself. Ten percent of all proceeds from the licensing of immunotherapies must be returned to California to offset the measure's total costs, including interest. Additionally, any cure or immunotherapy developed will be provided to California patients at a 20 percent discount below the national average. Prop 38 also includes strict accountability requirements, including:

- Two percent cap on state administrative expenses
- Public disclosure of spending
- Independent financial audits
- For-profit corporations are not eligible for grant funding

Learn more at YESon38.com, including a full coalition list and what supporters are saying.

Robin Swanson
YES on Prop 38
Press@YesOn38.com
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