Washington, D.C. - Congressman Charles Rangel released the following statement in recognition of National Glaucoma Awareness Month, during the month of January.

"As a founding Member of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus, I recognize the importance of promoting awareness for the sight-stealing disease known as glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States, which currently afflicts 2.2 million Americans and over 60 million people worldwide. In addition to affecting the elderly commonly at risk, glaucoma is especially prevalent in older blacks and Hispanic communities; blacks are 17 times more likely to go blind from glaucoma, compared to whites of similar age.

Glaucoma, one of many eye diseases that can lead to blindness, is caused by damage to the optic nerve that sends images to the brain. The scariest aspect of this condition is that there are no perceivable symptoms or physical signs - hence referred to as the "silent thief of sight." Unfortunately, there is no cure for glaucoma yet.

Fortunately, glaucoma can be treated early before it worsens by attending regular eye-screenings to detect symptoms. That is why the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus, a bipartisan coalition since its founding in 2000, is dedicated to advocating awareness and treatment across America. Thanks to the subsequent creation of our active partner in the field, the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation, 10,000 free annual treatments are conducted nationwide with a percentage referred to follow-up specialists. The Foundation was originally funded by private sector grants, but its success now garners funding from government agencies like the Center for Disease Control.

I encourage my fellow New Yorkers to take advantage of free screenings provided by the Foundation, by visiting glaucomacongress.org to look for locations in the greater New York City area. In Congress, I will continue to fight potential budget cuts to bottleneck advances in medical research directed at finding a cure for glaucoma."