IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 981 
Recognizing March 6, 2008, as the first-ever World Glaucoma Day, estab-
lished to increase awareness of glaucoma, which is the second leading 
cause of preventable blindness in the United States and worldwide. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2008 
Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Mr. SESSIONS) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing March 6, 2008, as the first-ever World Glau-
coma Day, established to increase awareness of glau-
coma, which is the second leading cause of preventable 
blindness in the United States and worldwide. 
Whereas glaucoma is a progressive disease of the optic nerve, 
robbing individuals of both peripheral and central vision; 
Whereas glaucoma affects all age groups, including infants, 
children, and the elderly; 
Whereas glaucoma disproportionately affects underserved mi-
nority populations, with African-Americans having a 
three times greater risk of developing this disease than 
White Americans, and it is the leading cause of irrevers-
ible vision loss in African-Americans and Hispanics; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:26 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR981.IH
HR981
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
•HRES 981 IH 
Whereas glaucoma is the second leading cause of preventable 
vision loss in the United States, afflicting 2,200,000 
Americans, and it is the leading cause of permanent 
blindness worldwide, afflicting 67,000,000 persons; 
Whereas awareness is absolutely crucial, as glaucoma often 
has no symptoms until vision loss occurs, and it is esti-
mated that, in the United States, more than half of the 
individuals with glaucoma are unaware that they have it 
and, in developing countries, 90 percent of individuals 
with glaucoma are unaware that they have it; 
Whereas with early diagnosis and ongoing treatment, 90 per-
cent of the cases where blindness occurs can be avoided 
and awareness is crucial, so that individuals with known 
risk factors for glaucoma and those over the age of 40 
should have regular, comprehensive eye examinations that 
include careful evaluation of the optic nerve and measure-
ment of eye pressure; 
Whereas, the National Eye Institute (‘‘NEI’’) within the Na-
tional Institutes of Health (‘‘NIH’’) has been a worldwide 
leader in glaucoma research, elucidating the genetic basis 
of different types of the disease (including risk factors) 
and the potential for gene therapy approaches, identi-
fying factors that can protect the optic nerve from dam-
age, evaluating the potential for optic nerve cell regenera-
tion, and better understanding how elevated intraocular 
pressure leads to optic nerve damage and how pressure- 
reducing drugs ultimately developed from NEI-led re-
search can reduce glaucoma progression; 
Whereas adequate Federal funding is needed at the NEI for 
research to prevent, diagnose, and cure glaucoma-related 
vision impairment and blindness, which disproportion-
ately affects underserved minority populations; and 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:26 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR981.IH
HR981
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
•HRES 981 IH 
Whereas the public needs to know the insidious nature of 
glaucoma, that there are means for detecting and treat-
ing it to save sight, and the importance of compliance as-
sociated with those treatments, and the first-ever World 
Glaucoma Day is an observance planned to increase glob-
al awareness in that regard: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) recognizes the first-ever World Glaucoma 
Day; 
(2) supports the efforts of the National Eye In-
stitute within the National Institutes of Health to 
fund research on the causes of glaucoma, including 
genetic and environmental risk factors, glaucoma 
prevention, the relationships between damage to the 
optic nerve and loss of vision, societal and individual 
impacts, diagnostics, and treatment to save and po-
tentially restore sight; and 
(3) congratulates the American Glaucoma Soci-
ety for its efforts to expand awareness of the preva-
lence and economic burden of glaucoma, as well as 
the continued need for federally funded research into 
the disease, through congressional visits recently 
conducted. 
Æ 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
01:26 Feb 14, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR981.IH
HR981
wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS