Policy Positions

Each year, ARVO works with our partners, such as the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), to solidify our positions on recurring topics such as annual appropriations, or ad-hoc legislation.

FY2025 Appropriations

• The vision community voices concerns with the House proposal to restructure the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which would consolidate the National Eye Institute (NEI) into a broader Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research. This consolidation would negatively impact vision research.

FY2024 Appropriations

• ARVO joins many institutions in recommending at least $50.924 billion for the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) work, a 43.465 billion increase over the FY2023 program level. This would allow their base budget to keep up with the biomedical research and development price index (BRDPI) and ensure substantial growth of 5%. ARVO asks Congress for a 9% increase for the National Eye Institute (NEI) bringing it to $975 million. Additionally, ARVO supports renewing the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) "investment in FY 2024."

FY2023 Appropriations

• ARVO urges Congress to fund the Department of Defense (DOD) Peer Reviewed Vision Research Program (VRP) at $30 million in FY2023, an increase of $10 million over FY2022. This program focuses on research into deployment-related vision trauma that is not conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Joint DOD/VA Vision Center of Excellence (VCE), or the National Eye Institute (NEI).

• ARVO urges Congress to appropriate at least $49.048 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) base budget, a $4.1 billion increase over the FY22 enacted level. This takes into account inflation plus growth to support promising science across Institutes and Centers and support the next generation of scientists. ARVO also urges lawmakers to ensure that any funding for the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) or other proposed initiatives or institutes be supplemental to the $49 billion recommendation, instead of supplanting the existing essential investments in the NIH. To facilitate this increase, ARVO and the vision community urges Congress to ensure a funding allocation for the Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee that allows for this necessary investment in NIH. 

• The vision community urges Congress to appropriate $950 million for the National Eye Institute (NEI), an $86.1 million increase over the FY22 enacted level. Congress must ensure that NEI remains the world leader in sight-saving and vision-restoring research, can continue to train the next generation of vision scientists, and help improve patient outcomes and address the looming crisis of age-related vision disorders in the United States. 

• ARVO endorses the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research's recommendation for at least $49 billion in base funding for NIH, a $4.1 billion increase that is comprised of an increase of $3.5 billion or 7.9% in the NIH appropriation plus funding from the 21st Century Cures Act for specific initiatives. In addition, the recommendation strongly urgers lawmakers to ensure that any funding for ARPA-H, or for other targeted programs like pandemic preparedness, supplement the $49 billion recommendation for NIH's base budget. 

• ARVO endorses Research!America's urge to the House, Senate, and Appropriations leadership to secure a robust 302(b) funding allocation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (Labor-HHS-Education) Subcommittee to meet medical and public health research funding needs. This allocation will help ensure robust funding for important health funding in the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee for NIH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and ARPA-H.

FY2022 Appropriations

• In FY2022, ARVO urges Congress to appropriate President Biden's April 9, 2021 recommendation of $51 billion, including no less than $46.1 billion for the base program level budget (absent proposed funding for the ARPA-H) for the NIH, a $3.2 billion or 7.4% increase over the FY2021 program level, reflecting biomedical inflation of 2.4%, plus 5% growth. This allows for meaningful growth above inflation in the base budget to support promising science across all Institutes and Centers, as well a support the next generation of scientists.

• In FY2022, the vision community urges Congress to appropriate at least $900 million for NEI, a $64.3 million or 7.7% increase over FY2021, reflecting biomedical inflation and growth. Congress must ensure that the NEI remains the world leader in sight-saving and vision restoring research and can train the next generation of vision scientists.

• ARVO endorses the Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research (FOVA) FY2022 budget recommendation of $902 million for the VA Medical and Prosthetic Research program, at least $100 million for major and minor construction, and $42 million for IT infrastructure.

• ARVO endorses Prevent Blindness' FY2022 budget recommendation of  $5 million to the CDC’s Vision and Eye Health program and $4 million for Glaucoma. This funding would allow the CDC to conduct critically needed national surveillance of devastating eye diseases and conditions, determine where gaps in access to care exist, and partner with states and communities to improve vision and eye health at the state, local, or systems level.

COVID-19 Relief

• ARVO endorses the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (HR 869/S 289) which would, "provide $25 billion to help restore our nation’s research capacity to its pre-pandemic strength, prevent setbacks against the formidable challenges our nation faces, and further the goal of a robust, diverse, and inclusive STEM workforce," including $10 billion in research relief to the NIH.