NAEVR Applauds Omnibus Passage & NEI Increase, AEVR Conducts First Briefing

NAEVR Applauds Omnibus Passage & NEI Increase, AEVR Conducts First Briefing

FY22 Federal Appropriations Update
The House and Senate agreed on the parameters for a $1.5 trillion FY22 Omnibus spending package for the remainder of the fiscal year. The House passed the omnibus 361-69 on March 8, and the Senate passed it 68-31 on March 9.

The omnibus delivers on key priorities for both parties and included a compromise between earlier House and Senate bills for NIH funding. The omnibus includes $44.959 billion for the National Institute of Health (NIH), an increase of $2.025 billion (4.7%) over FY21. The National Eye Institute (NEI) receives $863.918 million, an increase of $28.2 million (3.4%) over FY21.

The package also includes $1 billion to fund President Biden’s newly proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The package places ARPA-H within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) instead of NIH as originally proposed, however, it gives HHS 30 days to transfer ARPA-H over to NIH should it decide that’s necessary.

Finally, the package continues to include level funding of $20 million for peer-reviewed vision research supported by the Vision Research Program (VRP) within the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). The package also includes a specific provision that allows agencies to use the funding for interagency funding for coordination with, participation in, or recommendations involving CDMRP and NIH research programs.

FY23 Federal Appropriations Update
NAEVR had meetings scheduled with appropriations staff to discuss FY23 funding for NEI as we look to build on the FY22 funding increase and support further increases in FY23. NAEVR’s request for FY23 funding for NEI includes $950 million, a 9% increase over the finalized FY22 funding. While this request represents a significant increase, it’s in line with NAEVR’s continued emphasis that NEI has remained underfunded based on inflation-adjusted dollars for the past decade. With the doubling of eye and vision conditions expected over the next 30 years, this funding will help address the looming epidemic in vision.

AEVR Congressional Briefing Update
AEVR launched its first Congressional Briefing of 2022 on March 8 under its Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative. Celebrating World Glaucoma Week, AEVR’s briefing about glaucoma was timely and elevated awareness about glaucoma and the continued need for research. We’ve included the following links to read the summary of our Understanding Glaucoma Patients: Health Disparities and Unmet Need briefing, or you can watch the recording here.

AEVR looks forward to conducting its next briefing on Diabetic Retinopathy at the end of May, and its Dry Eye briefing in July. Additional information about these and other planned events will be provided in future updates.