NAEVR Thanks Senate for Proposed FY2021 $2 B NIH, $26 M NEI Funding Increases and Urges Final Appropriations with Research Relief

(Washington, D.C.) Today, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) issued a statement upon the Senate Appropriations Committee’s release of all twelve of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 spending bills, including that for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) which increases National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding by $2 billion and National Eye Institute (NEI) funding by $26 million over enacted FY2020. In July, the House had passed its FY2021 LHHS spending bill with a $47 billion NIH increase ($500 million appropriations increase and $5 billion in emergency appropriations available through FY2025) and a $60.12 million NEI increase ($7.09 million appropriations increase and $53.03 million in emergency appropriations available through FY2025). NAEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky commented that:

“On behalf of the community of support for vision research, NAEVR thanks Senate LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO) for his leadership in including a $2 billion increase for the NIH’s base budget in the spending bill released today.

NAEVR looks forward to working with Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), as well as their House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee counterparts Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) toward quick enactment of a final bipartisan spending bill that continues the past robust investment in medical research while recognizing the need for at least $15.5 billion in emergency funding for NIH to advance new COVID-19 related research and to mitigate the impact of this public health emergency on our nation’s research enterprise.  

We urge these leaders to recognize the urgent need to support NIH and to act without further delay to complete both the FY2021 appropriations process and emergency funding for NIH.”  

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.