Today, the House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations legislation for programs in the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education. The legislation includes a proposed funding increase of $1 million over the Fiscal Year 2022 funding level of $1.5 million for vision and eye health the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which would bring the FY2023 funding level for the Vision Health Initiative to $2.5 million. This increase builds on the increase in FY2022 and would be the highest funding level allocated to this program since FY2010. Congress has also agreed to continue funding the CDC’s glaucoma program at its current funding level of $4 million.
“Prevent Blindness thanks Congress for recognizing the importance of the vision and eye health programs at the CDC,” said Jeff Todd, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “This investment in the Vision Health Initiative (VHI) continues a positive trajectory of investments in our national public health surveillance and data collection for vision loss, vision impairment, and blindness. This critical and timely investment will strengthen the VHI’s ability to collaborate with states and communities around early detection, intervention, and prevention efforts and will help inform policies that address disparities in equitable access to eye care.”
The House is expected to consider and debate the FY2023 appropriations bills in July. As Congress continues to debate FY2023 appropriations, Prevent Blindness will continue our advocacy efforts to adequately fund the CDC’s Vision Health Initiative and glaucoma program. For additional information on the upcoming FY2023 appropriations bill, visit preventblindness.org/advocacy.