IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1507 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 1, 2010 Mr. Roe of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Castle, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. McKeon, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cooper, and Mr. Broun of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform RESOLUTION Expressing support for designation of July as National Choroideremia Awareness Month.

Whereas over 7,000 men are affected with vision loss due to choroideremia and over 7,000 women are affected as carriers in the United States; Whereas annual health costs to treat the disorder are in excess of $10,000,000 and annual disability and accommodation costs are in excess of $100,000,000; Whereas the National Institutes of Health currently spends approximately $700,000,000 on vision research but has not designated specific resources to choroideremia; Whereas a dedicated funding stream would help find a treatment for this disorder; Whereas research has advanced to the point where it is believed that with adequate funding a treatment could be available within 2 years; Whereas a successful treatment for choroideremia would accelerate development of treatments for more common retinal degenerative disorders such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa that affect over 2,000,000 people in the United States with annual health costs of over $5,000,000,000 and annual disability costs of over $20,000,000,000; Whereas retinal degenerative disorders affect 30 percent of the population over age 75; Whereas the Choroideremia Research Foundation has recognized July as National Choroideremia Awareness Month; and Whereas July would be an appropriate month to designate as National Choroideremia Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives supports the designation of National Choroideremia Awareness Month.