Prevent Blindness government affairs was on Capitol Hill recently to welcome the newly sworn-in 119th Congress. Pictured here: Sara Brown, Director of Government Affairs, with Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE).

The new 119^th Congress was sworn into office on January 3, 2025, and Prevent Blindness was on Capitol Hill to discuss our national vision and eye health policy priorities with new and returning Members and to invite them to join the bipartisan Congressional Vision Caucus. Already, the state of play in Washington, DC is proving that this will be a very challenging era! The Republican Party holds the majority in both the House and the Senate; however, the margin of control is tight in both chambers with Republicans holding a 4-seat majority over House Democrats and a 6-seat majority over Democrats in the Senate. With a lofty Trump Administration-backed legislative agenda that includes a budget reconciliation package, an extension of first-term Trump-era tax cuts, and a debt ceiling increase, most legislation may need to wait until after the first 100 days of the new Trump Administration to be considered.

Complicating this, the 118^th Congress finished its very contentious December session without having passed the final bill on Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations. Instead, Congress passed another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government until March 14 with lawmakers yet to negotiate what major policy proposals that were ultimately removed from the March 14 CR will be included in the final bill. This “old business” is running alongside the “new business” of assigning House and Senate legislators to new Committee and leadership posts, confirming nominees for key Cabinet posts and agency heads, and keeping up with the flurry of activity from the Trump Administration, which was inaugurated on January 20, 2025.

Speaking of which, the first two weeks of the second Trump Administration have proven to be a near-180° pivot from the Biden Administration in both process and substance. While it is typical for a new President to introduce a flurry of Executive Orders and rescind policies from the preceding Administration, many of these new directives have had direct impacts on public health and medical research communities.

Below are some key directives that Prevent Blindness is monitoring and working to understand:

• Withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), which released the “World Report on Vision” in 2019 and a fact sheet on the impact of blindness and vision loss in 2023.
•  Rescinding President Biden’s initiatives to lower drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Ordering a cease of all external communications from such agencies as the CDC and NIH until at least February 1, which includes the CDC’s Vision Health Initiative and the National Eye Institute.
• Eliminating all programs that advance goals around diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, which could effectively halt any progress on health equity and health information.

Most recently, the Trump Administration caused significant confusion across the country by placing a freeze on all federal assistance, including grants and loans, in an effort to determine whether programs are in alignment with the Administration’s agenda. At the time of this newsletter, it remains unclear what direction the Trump Administration will take in fulfilling existing funding obligations. Prevent Blindness continues to remain diligent and informed with our partners, colleagues, and fellow patient advocates to understand the implications of these and many forthcoming policies. 

The peaceful transition of power from one Congress and one Administration to the next will always come with some time needed to acclimate to the new administration. Prevent Blindness will continue to stay true to our mission to prevent blindness and preserve sight and look for every opportunity to elevate the patient voice through all of these and other changes. Now more than ever, we invite our advocates to lend a hand and consider the following actions:

• Sign up for Advocacy Alerts from Prevent Blindness, which will keep you informed and aware of opportunities to engage lawmakers.
• Share your story or the experience of someone you know who lives with vision loss or blindness. We look for opportunities to bring your stories to legislators on Capitol Hill to underscore the need for action on our policy priorities!
• Get to know your Member of Congress and consider reaching out to them with a message that vision and eye health matters!

Prevent Blindness is an active participant in numerous coalitions and working groups that collectively work together to achieve various outcomes on legislation and other matters of public policy. Below are a few examples of our recent work on behalf of patients with vision loss, eye disease, and blindness.

• Prevent Blindness Welcome Letter to Members of the 119^th Congress
• Prevent Blindness sent a letter to the Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in support of expanding coverage for anti-obesity medications in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage

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