[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 366 Engrossed in House (EH)]
H. Res. 366
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
June 16, 2009.
Whereas vision impairment and eye disease is a major public health problem,
especially due to the aging of the population, a disproportionate
incidence of eye disease in minority populations, and vision loss as a
result of diabetes and other chronic diseases, which costs the Nation
$68,000,000,000 annually in health care costs, lost productivity,
reduced independence, diminished quality of life, increased depression,
and accelerated mortality;
Whereas 38,000,000 people in the United States age 40-plus currently experience
blindness, low-vision, or an age-related eye disease, and this number is
expected to grow to 50,000,000 by 2020, a year mid-way in the tidal wave
of 78,000,000 baby boomers who will begin turning age 65 in 2010, and
many of whom will continue working well beyond age 65;
Whereas, in public opinion polls over the past 40 years, people in the United
States have consistently identified fear of vision loss as second only
to fear of cancer and, as recently as a 2008 NEI study, 71 percent of
respondents indicated that a loss of their eyesight would have the
greatest impact on their life;
Whereas, with wisdom and foresight, Congress passed the National Eye Institute
(NEI) Act (Public Law 90-489), which was signed into law by President
Johnson on August 16, 1968, with the NEI holding the first meeting of
its National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC) on April 3, 1969;
Whereas the NEI leads the Nation's Federal commitment to basic and clinical
research, research training, and other programs with respect to blinding
eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function,
preservation of sight and the special health problems and needs of
individuals who are visually-impaired or blind, and to disseminate
information aimed at the prevention of blindness, specifically with
public and professional education facilitated through its National Eye
Health Education Program (NEHEP);
Whereas the NEI maximizes Federal funding by devoting 85 percent of its budget
to extramural research that addresses the breadth of eye and vision
disorders, including ``back of the eye'' retinal and optic nerve
disease, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, and
diabetic retinopathy, and concomitant low vision, and ``front of the
eye'' disease, including corneal, lens, cataract, and refractive errors;
Whereas the NEI research benefits children, including premature infants born
with retinopathy and school children with amblyopia (``lazy eye'');
Whereas the NEI benefits older citizens in the United States by predicting,
preventing, and preempting aging eye disease, thereby enabling more
productive lives and reducing Medicare costs;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in basic research, working with the NIH's
Human Genome Project to translate discoveries of genes related to eye
disease and vision impairment, which comprises one quarter of genes
discovered to date, into diagnostic and treatment modalities;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in clinical research, funding more than 60
clinical trials, including a series of Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical
Trials Networks, in association with the National Institute for Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIDDK), which have developed
treatment strategies that have been determined by the NEI to be 90
percent effective and save an estimated $1,600,000,000 per year in
blindness and vision impairment disability costs;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in prevention research, having reported from
the first phase of its Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) that high
levels of dietary zinc and anti-oxidant vitamins reduced vision loss in
individuals at high risk for developing advanced AMD by a magnitude of
25 percent, and in its second phase, is now studying the impact of other
nutritional supplements;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in epidemiologic research, identifying the
basis and progression of eye disease and its disproportionate incidence
in minority populations such that informed public health policy
decisions can be made regarding prevention, early diagnosis, and
treatment;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative, trans-NIH Institute
research, working with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on factors that
promote or inhibit new blood vessel growth that has resulted in the
first generation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved
ophthalmic drugs to inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth in the ``wet''
form of AMD, thereby stabilizing and often restoring vision;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research with other Federal
entities, such that its bioengineering research partnership with the
National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy has resulted in
a retinal chip implant, referred to as the ``Bionic Eye'', that has
enabled individuals who have been blind for decades to perceive visual
images;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research with private funding
entities, such that its human gene therapy trial with the Foundation
Fighting Blindness for individuals with Leber Congenital Amaurosis
(LCA), a rapid retinal degeneration that blinds infants in their first
year of life, has demonstrated measurable vision improvement even within
the initial safety trials;
Whereas in the decade 2010 through 2020, the Nation will face unprecedented
public health challenges associated with aging, health disparities, and
chronic disease; and
Whereas Federal support at the NEI and related Department of Health and Human
Services agencies is essential for the prevention and early detection,
access to treatment and rehabilitation, and research associated with
vision impairment and eye disease: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the National Eye Institute
(NEI), commends it for its leadership, and supports its mission to
prevent blindness and to save and restore vision;
(2) supports the designation of the ``Decade of Vision'' to maintain
a sustained awareness in the next decade of the unprecedented public
health challenges associated with vision impairment and eye disease and
to emphasize the need for Federal support for prevention and early
detection, access to treatment and rehabilitation, and research; and
(3) commends the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
(NAEVR), which serves as the ``Friends of the National Eye Institute'',
for its efforts to expand awareness of the incidence and economic burden
of eye disease through its Decade of Vision 2010-2020 Initiative.
Attest:
Clerk.