[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 209 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 209
Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the National Eye Institute and
expressing support for designation of the years 2011 through 2020 as
the ``Decade of Vision''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 7, 2009
Mr. Isakson (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the National Eye Institute and
expressing support for designation of the years 2011 through 2020 as
the ``Decade of Vision''.
Whereas vision impairment and eye disease are major public health problems,
especially due to the aging of the population;
Whereas there is a disproportionate incidence of eye disease in minority
populations;
Whereas vision loss as a result of diabetes and other chronic diseases costs the
people of the United States $68,000,000,000 each year in health care
expenses, lost productivity, reduced independence, diminished quality of
life, increased depression, and accelerated mortality;
Whereas approximately 38,000,000 people in the United States over 40 years of
age currently experience blindness, low-vision, or an age-related eye
disease, and this number is expected to grow to 50,000,000 by 2020, as
the tidal wave of approximately 78,000,000 baby boomers who will begin
to reach 65 years of age in 2010, many of whom will continue working
well beyond age 65, crashes;
Whereas, in public opinion polls conducted during the past 40 years, people in
the United States have consistently identified fear of vision loss as
second only to fear of cancer, and, as recently as 2008, a study by the
National Eye Institute showed that 71 percent of respondents indicated
that a loss of eyesight would have the greatest impact on their life;
Whereas, with wisdom and foresight, Congress passed an Act entitled ``An Act to
amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of
a National Eye Institute in the National Institutes of Health'' (Public
Law 90-489; 82 Stat. 771), which was signed into law by President
Johnson on August 16, 1968;
Whereas the National Eye Institute (in this resolution referred to as the
``NEI'') held the first meeting of the National Advisory Eye Council on
April 3, 1969;
Whereas the NEI leads the Federal commitment to basic and clinical research,
research training, and other programs with respect to blinding eye
diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation
of sight, and the special health problems and needs of individuals who
are visually-impaired or blind;
Whereas the NEI disseminates information aimed at the prevention of blindness,
specifically through public and professional education facilitated by
the National Eye Health Education Program;
Whereas the NEI maximizes Federal funding by devoting 85 percent of its budget
to extramural research that addresses a wide variety of eye and vision
disorders, including ``back of the eye'' retinal and optic nerve
disease, such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and
diabetic retinopathy, and concomitant low vision, and ``front of the
eye'' disease, including corneal, lens, cataract, and refractive errors;
Whereas research by the NEI benefits children, including premature infants born
with retinopathy and school children with amblyopia (commonly known as
``lazy eye'');
Whereas the NEI benefits older people in the United States by predicting,
preventing, and preempting aging eye disease, thereby enabling more
productive lives and reducing Medicare costs;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in basic research, working with the Human
Genome Project of the National Institutes of Health to translate
discoveries of genes related to eye disease and vision impairment, which
make up \1/4\ of genes discovered to date, into diagnostic and treatment
modalities;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in clinical research, funding more than 60
clinical trials (including a series of Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical
Trials Networks, in association with the National Institute for Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Disorders) which have developed treatment
strategies that have been determined by the NEI to be 90 percent
effective and to save an estimated $1,600,000,000 each year in blindness
and vision impairment disability costs;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in prevention research, having reported from
the first phase of its Age-Related Eye Disease Study that high levels of
dietary zinc and anti-oxidant vitamins reduced vision loss in
individuals at high risk for developing advanced age-related macular
degeneration by 25 percent, and, in the second phase of Age-Related Eye
Disease Study, studying the impact of other nutritional supplements;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in epidemiologic research, identifying the
basis and progression of eye disease and the disproportionate incidence
of eye disease in minority populations, so that informed public health
policy decisions can be made regarding prevention, early diagnosis, and
treatment;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research across the National
Institutes of Health, working with the National Cancer Institute and the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to identify factors that
promote or inhibit new blood vessel growth, which has resulted in the
first generation of ophthalmic drugs approved by the Food and Drug
Administration to inhibit abnormal blood vessel growth in the form of
age-related macular degeneration commonly known as the ``wet'' form of
age-related macular degeneration, thereby stabilizing, and often
restoring, vision;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research with other Federal
entities, and its bioengineering research partnership with the National
Science Foundation and the Department of Energy has resulted in a
retinal chip implant, referred to as the ``Bionic Eye'', that has
enabled individuals who have been blind for decades to perceive visual
images;
Whereas the NEI has been a leader in collaborative research with private funding
entities, and its human gene therapy trial with the Foundation Fighting
Blindness for individuals with Leber Congenital Amaurosis, a rapid
retinal degeneration that blinds infants in their first year of life,
has demonstrated measurable vision improvement even within the initial
safety trials;
Whereas, from 2011 through 2020, the people of the United States will face
unprecedented public health challenges associated with aging, health
disparities, and chronic disease; and
Whereas Federal support by the NEI and related agencies within the Department of
Health and Human Services is essential for prevention, early detection,
access to treatment and rehabilitation, and research associated with
vision impairment and eye disease: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the NEI, commends
the NEI for its leadership, and supports the mission of the NEI
to prevent blindness and to save and restore vision;
(2) supports the designation of the years 2011 through 2020
as the ``Decade of Vision'', to--
(A) maintain a sustained awareness of the
unprecedented public health challenges associated with
vision impairment and eye disease; and
(B) emphasize the need for Federal support for
prevention, early detection, access to treatment and
rehabilitation, and research; and
(3) commends the National Alliance for Eye and Vision
Research, also known as the ``Friends of the National Eye
Institute'', for its efforts to expand awareness of the
incidence and economic burden of eye disease through its Decade
of Vision 2011-2020 Initiative.
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