Jason Menzo Urges Robust FY2026 Funding for National Eye Institute and Protection of Its Independent Status
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 Blindness
Established 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.
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SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness
