NAEVR Urges Congress to Pass a Short-term Continuing Resolution and Return After the Election to Finalize FY2017 Appropriations with $2 Billion NIH Increase

NAEVR URGES CONGRESS TO PASS A SHORT-TERM CONTINUING RESOLUTION AND RETURN AFTER THE ELECTION TO FINALIZE FY2017 APPROPRIATIONS WITH $2 BILLION NIH INCREASE

(Washington, D.C.) The National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) announced its advocacy positions on behalf of the vision community regarding Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Eye Institute (NEI) funding as Congress returns for a shortened session prior to the election recess:

• Urge Congress to enact a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) through the end of 2016 and return following the election to complete FY2017 appropriations. A longer term CR jeopardizes the momentum of biomedical research, potentially resulting in investigators needing bridge or philanthropic funding.
• Request that Congress support the $2 billion NIH funding increase to $34.1 billion, as proposed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, which reflects real growth above biomedical inflation. The vision community thanks Congress for its strong bipartisan support in FY2016 that resulted in a $2 billion NIH increase to $32.1 billion.

A $2 billion FY2017 NIH increase would result in NEI funding of $741 million, or a
$33 million increase over FY2016, to fund research to save sight and restore vision.

NAEVR and its educational foundation the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) will be hosting several advocacy and educational events in September to support the vision community’s positions, including:

• A Wednesday, September 14, AEVR Congressional Briefing entitled Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Retinal Diseases (12 Noon, House Rayburn Office Building Room B-338)
• A Wednesday, September 14, AEVR Second Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day Reception (5:30 – 7:30 pm, House Rayburn Building 2168, the Gold Room) and a Thursday, September 15, NAEVR EVS Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.
• NAEVR will participate in the Thursday, September 22, Rally for Medical Research Advocacy Day, which will engage more than 300 researchers from across the nation.

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.