Foundation CEO Provides Expert Testimony to U.S. Senate as Outside Witness on Vision Research Funding
COLUMBIA, Md., June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the driving force in the global development of treatments and cures for blinding diseases, today submitted written testimony to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies through its chief executive officer, Jason Menzo, who served as an expert outside witness. In the testimony, Menzo urged the Subcommittee to deliver robust and sustained funding for the National Eye Institute (NEI) in Fiscal Year 2026 and to preserve NEI's status as an independent institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
'NEI is the only federal institute dedicated exclusively to vision research,' said Jason Menzo, CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. 'Its work is restoring sight, advancing precision medicine, and delivering hope to millions of Americans living with retinal diseases. Continued investment is critical to maintaining momentum and achieving breakthroughs for conditions that currently have no cure.'
The Foundation's testimony highlights how NEI-supported research has led to transformative discoveries, including the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited disease, and emphasizes NEI's strategic role in public-private collaborations that accelerate treatment development. The Foundation Fighting Blindness and NEI have long shared a close, collaborative partnership to advance high-impact scientific discovery and bring new treatments to patients faster. Vision loss from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Stargardt disease currently affects tens of millions and costs the U.S. economy an estimated $134.2 billion annually.
The Foundation emphasized that inconsistent funding stalls clinical trials, closes labs, and risks losing top scientific talent—consequences that are difficult and costly to reverse. The testimony also noted that for every dollar invested in NIH-funded research, $2.56 in new economic activity is generated, making this one of the highest-return investments Congress can make.
'We're not just talking about restoring sight—we're talking about protecting America's leadership in biomedical innovation and supporting economic growth in communities nationwide,' added Menzo.
The Foundation Fighting Blindness urges Congress to:
Provide strong, sustained funding for NEI in the FY2026 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill; and
Preserve NEI's status as an independent institute within NIH to ensure focused, strategic investment in vision science.
The full testimony is available at FightingBlindness.org.
About the Foundation Fighting BlindnessEstablished in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private source of funding for research on retinal degenerative diseases. The Foundation has raised over $954 million toward its mission to prevent, treat, and cure blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and more. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.
Media Contacts:Chris AdamsVice President, Marketing & CommunicationsCAdams@FightingBlindness.org(410) 423-0585
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
36 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Gold falls on firmer US dollar and rising trade optimism
LONDON: Gold prices fell on Friday, pressured by a recovery in the US dollar and optimism over progress in trade talks between the United States and the European Union. Spot gold was down 0.6 per cent at US$3,347.28 per ounce by 0949 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.7 per cent to US$3,349.80. The US dollar index rebounded from more than a two-week low, making bullion more expensive for overseas buyers, while benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields rose. A resurgence in risk appetite driven by optimism over potential tariff negotiations, and lower-than-expected US jobless claims reinforcing the view that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut rates, is pressuring gold, said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at brokerage firm ActivTrades. "There is an element of uncertainty that still lingers... with a strong support around US$3,300, I see the potential for gold prices to rise should new episodes of volatility be triggered," he said. The European Commission said on Thursday that a negotiated trade solution with the United States is within reach - while EU members voted to approve counter-tariffs on 93 billion euros (US$109 billion) of US goods in case the talks collapse. Data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell to a three-month low last week, pointing to stable labour market conditions. President Donald Trump pressed Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates in a tense visit to the US central bank on Thursday, less than a week before the next rate-setting meeting where policymakers are expected to hold interest rates steady. Markets are pricing in a potential rate cut in September. Gold typically performs well during periods of uncertainty and in low-interest-rate environments. Spot silver fell 0.6 per cent to US$38.85 per ounce, but was still on track for a weekly gain of about 1.6 per cent. Platinum was 1.2 per cent lower at US$1,391.25, with palladium also down 1.2 per cent at US$1,213.76.
Malay Mail
5 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Trump: Australia will get ‘so much' of our ‘magnificent beef', others that refuse are ‘on notice'
WASHINGTON, July 25 — The United States will sell 'so much' beef to Australia, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday after Canberra relaxed import restrictions, adding that other countries that refused US beef products were on notice. Australia on Thursday said it would loosen biosecurity rules for US beef, something analysts predicted would not significantly increase US shipments because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower. 'We are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that US Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 'The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE,' the post continued. Trump has attempted to renegotiate trade deals with numerous countries he says have taken advantage of the United States — a characterisation many economists dispute. 'For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on US beef,' US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, calling Australia's decision a 'major milestone in lowering trade barriers and securing market access for US farmers and ranchers.' Australia is not a significant importer of beef but the United States is and a production slump is forcing it to step up purchases. Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tonnes of beef worth US$2.9 billion (RM12.2 billion) to the United States, with just 269 tonnes of US product moving the other way. Australian officials say the relaxation of restrictions was not part of any trade negotiations but the result of a years-long assessment of US biosecurity practices. Canberra has restricted US beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Since 2019, it has allowed in meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the US but few suppliers were able to prove that their cattle had not been in Canada and Mexico. On Wednesday, Australia's agriculture ministry said US cattle traceability and control systems had improved enough that Australia could accept beef from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States. The decision has caused some concern in Australia, where biosecurity is seen as essential to prevent diseases and pests from ravaging the farm sector. 'We need to know if (the government) is sacrificing our high biosecurity standards just so Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can obtain a meeting with US President Donald Trump,' shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud said in a statement. Australia, which imports more from the US than it exports, faces a 10 per cent across-the-board US tariff, as well 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. Trump has also threatened to impose a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals. Asked whether the change would help achieve a trade deal, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said: 'I'm not too sure.' 'We haven't done this in order to entice the Americans into a trade agreement,' he said. 'We think that they should do that anyway.' — Reuters
New Straits Times
8 hours ago
- New Straits Times
TikTok will go dark in US without Chinese approval of sale deal, US commerce secretary says
BENGALURU: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Thursday that TikTok will have to stop operating in the United States if China does not approve a deal for the sale of the Chinese-owned short video app that is used by some 170 million Americans. Lutnick, speaking on CNBC, also said the United States must control the algorithm that makes the social media platform work. Last month, President Donald Trump extended by 90 days to Sept 17, 2025 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok. Trump's action took place despite a 2024 law that mandated a sale or shutdown by Jan 19, 2025 if there had not been significant progress. "China can have a little piece or ByteDance, the current owner, can keep a little piece. But basically, Americans will have control. Americans will own the technology, and Americans will control the algorithm," Lutnick said. "If that deal gets approved, by the Chinese, then that deal will happen. If they don't approve it, then TikTok is going to go dark, and those decisions are coming very soon." TikTok did not immediately comment. A deal had been in the works this spring that would spin off TikTok's US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors. This stalled after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. Trump has three times granted reprieves from federal enforcement of the law that mandated the sale or shutdown of TikTok that was supposed to take effect in Jan 2025. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Apple, Google and other companies that provide services or host the TikTok app that were made public this month. The letters said the Justice Department was irrevocably relinquishing any claims against the companies for potential violations of the law, citing Trump's determination that an abrupt shutdown would interfere with his overseeing national security and foreign affairs. Some Democratic lawmakers argue Trump has no legal authority to extend the deadline and suggest the deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements.
