| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 8, 2019 |
CONTACT: James F. Jorkasky Executive Director 240-221-2905 [email protected] |
NAEVR URGES INCREASES IN SPENDING CAPS THAT WOULD FACILITATE REQUESTED FY2020 NIH/NEI FUNDING INCREASES
(Washington, D.C.) Today, the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) expressed its support for H.R. 2021, the Investing for the People Act of 2019, reported out of the House Budget Committee. The bill lifts the defense and nondefense discretionary (NDD) spending caps for Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021, the final two years of the Budget Control Act (BCA). In adhering to the principle of parity applying the same dollar increase to the defense and non-defense caps the bill would raise the NDD caps by $88 billion to $631 billion for FY2020, a 5.7 percent increase over 2019. In so doing, the bill would reject the original BCA caps that the Trump administration used in its FY2020 budget proposal that would drastically cut NDD programs, including medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Eye Institute (NEI).
Commenting on the bill, NAEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky stated that:
"In its advocacy on Capitol Hill during the FY2020 appropriations season, the vision community has urged Congress to pass a bipartisan budget deal that would increase BCA caps for FY2020 and 2021, thereby facilitating continued robust funding increases for the NIH and NEI. This bill begins that process, and we urge Congress to be responsive so that FY2020 appropriations can be finalized by the end of FY2019 and not be delayed, impeding the momentum of research."
In issuing its statement, NAEVR echoed a statement of support by NDD United, an alliance of thousands of national, state, and local organizations working to protect investments in core government functions that benefit all Americans. NAEVR is an NDD United member.
In February 8 and March 28 NAEVR-hosted Advocacy Days, members of the vision community have requested that Congress fund the NIH in FY2020 at a level of at least $41.6 billion and the NEI at a level of $850 million.
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.
