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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2018 |
CONTACT: James F. Jorkasky Executive Director 240-221-2905 jamesj@eyeresearch.org |
NAEVR COMMENDS CONGRESS FOR PASSAGE OF THE CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018 WITH ROBUST NIH AND NEI FUNDING INCREASES
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) issued a statement on the March 22 House and Senate passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018the Omnibus spending bill that finalizes Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations. It increases the FY2017 National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding level of $34.08 billion by $3 billion to $37.08 billion, and increases the FY2017 National Eye Institute (NEI) Operating Budget of $731.2 million by $41.1 million to $772.3 milliona 5.6 percent increase.
NAEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky issued the following statement:
The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) is a 501(c)4 non-profit advocacy coalition comprised of 55 professional, consumer, and industry organizations involved in eye and vision research. Visit the Web site at www.eyeresearch.org.NAEVR commends Congress for following up on the February passage of the two-year budget deal that eliminated sequestration and increased spending caps for defense and nondefense spending with passage of the FY2018 Omnibus spending bill. The $3 billion increase enables the NIH to pursue special initiatives while providing a robust increase to the Institutes and Centers, such as the NEI, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its creation by Congress. In fact, the Omnibus bill text issued just a few hours after a Congressional Reception recognizing the NEIs milestone concluded.
NAEVR appreciates the efforts of Congressional appropriations leaders, including Senate and House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Subcommittee Chairs Roy Blunt and Tom Cole and Ranking Members Patty Murray and Rosa DeLauroand their staffswho have worked tirelessly to put the NIH on a pathway of sustained and predictable growth to rebuild budgets reduced by past flat-funding and biomedical inflation.
NAEVR also thanks members of the vision research community who participated in multiple Advocacy Days in 2017 and early 2018, as well as those who have sent email letters of support for robust funding increases. NAEVR has already begun similar efforts regarding 2019 NIH/NEI funding.