NAEVR Testifies Before House on FY2022 NIH/NEI Funding and Research Recovery Funding
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NAEVR Testifies Before House on FY2022 NIH/NEI Funding and Research Recovery Funding
A week before the Biden Administration is scheduled to release its detailed Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget proposal on May 27, on May 19 House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Subcommittee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) held a virtual Public Witness Day hearing — the first since 2019 — regarding FY2022 funding for programs within the LHHS spending bill. Among the 23 witnesses and testifying on behalf of NAEVR was Michael Crair, PhD, who serves as the Vice Provost for Research and the William Ziegler III Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology & Visual Science at Yale University. Dr. Crair reiterated NAEVR’s messaging for FY2022 appropriations: at least $46.1 billion funding in the National Institutes of Health’s base budget, $900 million in funding for the National Eye Institute, and one-time emergency “research recovery” funding to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions in research.
In her comments during the hearing, Chairwoman DeLauro acknowledged her personal concern about Age-related Macular Degeneration, which a family member experiences, commented that she wanted to ensure that overall NIH funding increases “don’t shortchange smaller Institutes, as the discoveries there are just as large,” and that “With respect to vision, hearing, and dental, why do we divorce the head from the body in terms of recognizing research for these critical areas — which are especially important health concerns in the underserved communities?”
To read about the hearing and NAEVR’s testimony, click here.
