BRAIN Act

This bill focuses on faster progress against brain tumors. It opens up research samples to scientists, boosts new treatments, helps people find and join clinical trials, and improves long-term care for survivors. Lawmakers note that over 1,000,000 people in the U.S. are living with a brain tumor, there are very few approved treatments, and there is no early screening today.

It lets the National Institutes of Health create a public website listing NIH‑funded brain tumor tissue collections and requires collectors to report what they have; repeat violators can lose funding. It invests in treatment research by funding a Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network ($50 million per year from 2026–2030) and a team science program to test cellular immunotherapies like CAR‑T ($10 million per year from 2026–2030). It launches a national campaign to explain clinical trials and biomarker testing, with grants to test outreach strategies, especially for higher‑risk and rural communities ($10 million total for 2026–2030) . It also funds pilot programs to improve survivor care—such as care coordination, mental health supports, and secure tools to share treatment summaries ($5 million per year from 2026–2030). The Food and Drug Administration must issue guidance within one year to reduce rules that unnecessarily keep brain tumor and rare cancer patients out of trials for other conditions.

• Who is affected: People with brain tumors (adults and kids), survivors and families, health care providers, researchers, and communities at higher risk, including rural areas .
• What changes: A public database of brain tumor tissue collections with required reporting; expanded research networks and immunotherapy studies; a national awareness campaign with demonstration grants; new survivor‑care pilots; and FDA guidance to broaden trial access .
• When: Tissue‑collection reporting due within 60 days (new) or 180 days (existing) after enactment; most funding runs 2026–2030; FDA guidance due within one year .