[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 209 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 209

  Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the National Eye Institute and 
 expressing support for designation of the years 2011 through 2020 as 
                       the ``Decade of Vision''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 7, 2009

   Mr. Isakson (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the National Eye Institute and 
 expressing support for designation of the years 2011 through 2020 as 
                       the ``Decade of Vision''.

Whereas vision impairment and eye disease are major public health problems, 
        especially due to the aging of the population;
Whereas there is a disproportionate incidence of eye disease in minority 
        populations;
Whereas vision loss as a result of diabetes and other chronic diseases costs the 
        people of the United States $68,000,000,000 each year in health care 
        expenses, lost productivity, reduced independence, diminished quality of 
        life, increased depression, and accelerated mortality;
Whereas approximately 38,000,000 people in the United States over 40 years of 
        age currently experience blindness, low-vision, or an age-related eye 
        disease, and this number is expected to grow to 50,000,000 by 2020, as 
        the tidal wave of approximately 78,000,000 baby boomers who will begin 
        to reach 65 years of age in 2010, many of whom will continue working 
        well beyond age 65, crashes;
Whereas, in public opinion polls conducted during 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 2008, a study by the 
        National Eye Institute showed that 71 percent of respondents indicated 
        that a loss of eyesight would have the greatest impact on their life;
Whereas, with wisdom and foresight, Congress passed an Act entitled ``An Act to 
        amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of 
        a National Eye Institute in the National Institutes of Health'' (Public 
        Law 90-489; 82 Stat. 771), which was signed into law by President 
        Johnson on August 16, 1968;
Whereas the National Eye Institute (in this resolution referred to as the 
        ``NEI'') held the first meeting of the National Advisory Eye Council on 
        April 3, 1969;
Whereas the NEI leads the 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;
Whereas the NEI disseminates information aimed at the prevention of blindness, 
        specifically through public and professional education facilitated by 
        the National Eye Health Education Program;
Whereas the NEI maximizes Federal funding by devoting 85 percent of its budget 
        to extramural research that addresses a wide variety of eye and vision 
        disorders, including ``back of the eye'' retinal and optic nerve 
        disease, such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and 
        diabetic retinopathy, and concomitant low vision, and ``front of the 
        eye'' disease, including corneal, lens, cataract, and refractive errors;
Whereas research by the NEI benefits children, including premature infants born 
        with retinopathy and school children with amblyopia (commonly known as 
        ``lazy eye'');
Whereas the NEI benefits older people 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 Human 
        Genome Project of the National Institutes of Health to translate 
        discoveries of genes related to eye disease and vision impairment, which 
        make up \1/4\ 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) which have developed treatment 
        strategies that have been determined by the NEI to be 90 percent 
        effective and to save an estimated $1,600,000,000 each 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 that high levels of 
        dietary zinc and anti-oxidant vitamins reduced vision loss in 
        individuals at high risk for developing advanced age-related macular 
        degeneration by 25 percent, and, in the second phase of Age-Related Eye 
        Disease Study, 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 the disproportionate incidence 
        of eye disease in minority populations, so that informed public health 
        policy decisions can be made regarding prevention, early diagnosis, and 
        treatment;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research across the National 
        Institutes of Health, working with the National Cancer Institute and the 
        National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to identify factors that 
        promote or inhibit new blood vessel growth, which has resulted in the 
        first generation of ophthalmic drugs approved by the Food and Drug 
        Administration to inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth in the form of 
        age-related macular degeneration commonly known as the ``wet'' form of 
        age-related macular degeneration, thereby stabilizing, and often 
        restoring, vision;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research with other Federal 
        entities, and 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, and its human gene therapy trial with the Foundation Fighting 
        Blindness for individuals with Leber Congenital Amaurosis, 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, from 2011 through 2020, the people of the United States will face 
        unprecedented public health challenges associated with aging, health 
        disparities, and chronic disease; and
Whereas Federal support by the NEI and related agencies within the Department of 
        Health and Human Services is essential for prevention, early detection, 
        access to treatment and rehabilitation, and research associated with 
        vision impairment and eye disease: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the NEI, commends 
        the NEI for its leadership, and supports the mission of the NEI 
        to prevent blindness and to save and restore vision;
            (2) supports the designation of the years 2011 through 2020 
        as the ``Decade of Vision'', to--
                    (A) maintain a sustained awareness of the 
                unprecedented public health challenges associated with 
                vision impairment and eye disease; and
                    (B) emphasize the need for Federal support for 
                prevention, early detection, access to treatment and 
                rehabilitation, and research; and
            (3) commends the National Alliance for Eye and Vision 
        Research, also known 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 2011-2020 Initiative.
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