Each year, the United States Senate crafts an annual Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill, which includes a list of conditions that are deemed “eligible for study” through the Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP). For a condition to be included, Senators need to support the condition and officially ask for its inclusion. Senators have many competing appropriations priorities and for them to support a condition-specific request, they need to be educated and asked to do so by their constituents (you!).
Recently, Congress finalized the DOD appropriations bill for FY 2026. Currently, Senators are working on the Senate FY 2027 DoD Appropriations Bill and will be deciding which conditions will be included on the next PRMRP eligible conditions list. Fortunately, the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee released and approved an initial list that included “sleep disorders and restriction” last year and it was included in the final FY 2026 bill that passed in January. We need your advocacy to help ensure that we are included on this list for the upcoming FY 2027 bill.&nbsp;
<blockquote>At this critical juncture, please reach out to the offices of your Senators and ask that they “support the inclusion of sleep disorders and restriction in the DoD PRMRP’s eligible conditions list in FY 2027.”</blockquote>
<h4>Options for reaching out to Senate Offices:</h4>
1. Call the Senate office directly: Select the "Phone" tab on the right. Complete the form with your information. You will be directly connected to your Senator's office. Talking points are included for your reference.&nbsp;
2. Send an email to the Senate office: Select the "Email" tab on the right. Complete the form to send an email to your Senator's office. You may add a personal message within the form.

Ask the Senate to Include “Sleep Disorders and Restriction” in the Military’s Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP)

I write you today as a researcher and as an advocate for the Sleep Research Society to ask that your office please actively support the inclusion of “sleep disorders and restriction” as an eligible area for study through the Department of Defense (DoD) Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP) as you work with your colleagues to finalize the Senate (FY) 2027 DoD Appropriations Bill and corresponding Committee Report.

Since the program was established, Congress has listed sleep as eligible for study through the PRMRP, in recognition of the fundamental impact on military and public health. While it was included again in FY 2026, we want to make sure that the important DoD-funded research focused on sleep and circadian health can continue for FY 2027, so we ask that you support the inclusion of “sleep disorders and restriction” in the Senate FY 2027 Defense Appropriations Bill and accompanying committee report.

Inclusion of “sleep disorders and restriction” since the establishment of the PRMRP program has been tremendously important for the community and significantly advanced our scientific understanding in the areas of readiness, fatigue, sleep disorders, and PTSD. Through the PRMRP, the military has become a leading facilitator of sleep research, which is often coordinated with the efforts of the National Institutes of Health through the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research.

On behalf of SRS and the larger research and stakeholder community, thank you for your time and for your consideration of this request.