[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2173 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2173
To establish a grant program to provide comprehensive eye examinations
to children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2003
Mr. Pascrell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to provide comprehensive eye examinations
to children, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Vision Improvement and
Learning Readiness Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds as follows:
(1) Eighty percent of what children learn is acquired
through the visual processing of information.
(2) Visual impairment is one of the 10 most common causes
of disability in America. In children, visual impairment is
associated with developmental delays and the need for special
education, vocational, and social services. At least 20 percent
of children with learning disabilities have been found to have
prominent visual information processing problems.
(3) It is estimated that more than 10,000,000 children
(from birth to age 10) suffer from vision problems, with one in
20 preschoolers and one in four school aged children affected.
(4) It is estimated that only 14 percent of children under
the age of 6 receive a comprehensive eye examination. Only one-
third of all children have had an eye examination or vision
screening prior to entering school.
SEC. 3. GRANTS REGARDING COMPREHENSIVE EYE EXAMINATIONS FOR CHILDREN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'' may make grants to
States for the purpose of--
(1) providing comprehensive eye examinations for children
identified or considered at high risk of vision impairment,
with priority given to school-based programs for children who
are under the age of 9;
(2) providing subsequent treatment or services necessary to
correct vision problems; and
(3) developing and disseminating, to parents, teachers,
health care practitioners, and the public, educational
materials on recognizing signs of visual impairment in
children, and the State's vision improvement initiatives.
(b) Criteria and Coordination.--
(1) Criteria.--The Secretary, in consultation with
appropriate professional and consumer organizations including
individuals with knowledge of age appropriate vision services,
shall develop criteria--
(A) governing the operation of the grant program;
and
(B) for the collection of data related to vision
assessment and the utilization of followup services.
(2) Coordination.--The Secretary shall, as appropriate,
coordinate the program under subsection (a) with the program
under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (relating to
health centers), the program under title XIX of the Social
Security Act (relating to the Medicaid program), the program
under title XXI of such Act (relating to the State children's
health insurance program), and with other Federal or State
program that provide services to children.
(c) Application.--A grant may be made under subsection (a) only if
an application for the grant is submitted to the Secretary and the
application is in such form, is made in such manner, and contains such
information as the Secretary may require, including--
(1) information on existing Federal, Federal-State, or
State-funded children's vision screening programs;
(2) a plan for the use of grant funds, including how funds
will be used to compliment existing State efforts;
(3) a plan to determine if a grant eligible child has
received an age appropriate vision screening; and
(4) a description of how funds will be used to provide
items or services only as a secondary payer to--
(A) any State compensation program, under an
insurance policy, or under any Federal or State health
benefits program; or
(B) by any entity that provides health services on
a prepaid basis.
(d) Evaluations.--A grant may be made under subsection (a) only if
the State involved agrees that, not later than 1 year after the date on
which amounts under the grant are first received by the State, and
annually thereafter while receiving amounts under the grant, the State
will submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the operations and
activities carried out under the grant, including--
(1) an assessment of the utilization of vision services and
the status of children receiving these services as a result of
the activities carried out under the grant;
(2) the collection, analysis, and reporting of children's
vision data according to guidelines prescribed by the
Secretary; and
(3) such other information as the Secretary may require.
(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
``comprehensive eye examination'' includes an assessment of a patient's
history, general medical observation, external and ophthalmoscopic
examination, visual acuity, ocular alignment and motility, refraction,
and as appropriate, binocular vision or gross visual fields, performed
by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000
for fiscal year 2004, and such sums as may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 2005 through 2007.
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