III 

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; 


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•SRES 209 ATS 

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; 


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•SRES 209 ATS 

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 


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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 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the 40th anniversary of the NEI, 

3 commends the NEI for its leadership, and supports 

4 the mission of the NEI to prevent blindness and to 

5 save and restore vision; 

6 (2) supports the designation of the years 2011 

7 through 2020 as the ‘‘Decade of Vision’’, to— 

8 (A) maintain a sustained awareness of the 

9 unprecedented public health challenges associVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:08 Jul 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR209.ATS SR209

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1 ated with vision impairment and eye disease; 

2 and 

3 (B) emphasize the need for Federal sup4 port for prevention, early detection, access to 

5 treatment and rehabilitation, and research; and 

6 (3) commends the National Alliance for Eye 

7 and Vision Research, also known as the ‘‘Friends of 

8 the National Eye Institute’’, for its efforts to expand 

9 awareness of the incidence and economic burden of 

10 eye disease through its Decade of Vision 2011–2020 

11 Initiative. 

Æ 


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