determine the rationale for NIH allocating less that 1% of extramural research funding to the 3rd leading cause of death

In these times, tax money spent on directly reducing healthcare costs should be given priority over basic research. I would like to request your attention on a small aspect of government operations that does not work the way I believe it should. Specifically, the National Institute of Health within the Department of Health and Human Services is not funding sufficient research on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is our 3rd leading cause of death and imposes a $36 billion annual burden on our economy. Obscure disease processes receive more funding. Please determine the rationale for NIH allocating less that 1% of extramural research funding to the third leading cause of death in the US. Further, determine whether the research is focused on reducing cost and suffering.