Prevent Blindness reports that Congress has approved final appropriations legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2026, funding programs at the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education. The legislation follows months of negotiations, including a 43-day federal government shutdown in the fall and a continuing resolution expiring January 30.

The nonprofit organization notes that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Vision and Eye Health program, also known as the Vision Health Initiative (VHI), will see its funding cut by $2 million, reducing the program’s budget from $6.5 million to $4.5 million. Prevent Blindness warns that this reduction eliminates nearly one-third of the funding used for public health efforts that help prevent vision loss nationwide.

“While it’s disappointing that Congress has chosen to divest in basic public health programs that show real impacts for communities and their constituents, the CDC’s VHI is still an integral part of our nation’s basic public health approach to preventing avoidable vision loss and blindness,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We appreciate that Congress did not eliminate or consolidate many of the CDC’s vital programs, including the VHI, as was proposed in the President’s budget request last spring, and that the National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) remains funded at $896 million.”

Prevent Blindness highlights that VHI supports community-level programs such as glaucoma detection and referral, operates the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System (VEHSS), and strengthens state and community capacity through the National Resource Center for Vision and Eye Health.

Sara Everett Brown, senior director of government affairs at Prevent Blindness, added, “At a time when chronic diseases like diabetes, glaucoma, myopia, and others are on the rise, cutting spending will undermine the progress we have made in preventing avoidable blindness and translating important research findings to community-level interventions.”

Prevent Blindness encourages continued advocacy to reinvest in vision and eye health programs in FY 2027. More information on its advocacy efforts is available at preventblindness.org/advocacy.