Congress passed, and on March 23, the President signed the final set of appropriations bill for FY24 funding, providing level funding for critical vision research programs, including the National Eye Institute (NEI) and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Vision Research Program (VRP) within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). Dan Ignaszewski, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) and the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), expressed appreciation for the continued support for vision research but emphasized the challenges posed by level funding. “While we are grateful for the sustained funding commitment from Congress, it’s important to recognize that level funding, in the face of rising costs, effectively represents a cut in resources for vital vision research programs.”

You may also view summaries of past AEVR-sponsored Congressional Briefings on Capitol Hill (featuring NEI-sponsored research) and read about the NAEVR advocacy and AEVR educational activities in the Contributor Reports. You can also find information about special NIH-wide programs such as the Brain Initiative.

Congressional action in Fiscal Years (FY) 2016 to 2024 has increased NEI’s enacted budget to $896.55 million—23 percent more than its pre-sequester FY2012 funding level of $702 million—meaning that over nine fiscal years it has averaged a 2.1 percent increase as compared to the average biomedical inflation rate of 2.7 percent, resulting in a loss of purchasing power. In fact, NEI’s FY2024 purchasing power is less than that in FY2012.