Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 296, I move to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 1388) to reauthorize the reform of the national service laws, with the Senate amendments thereto, and I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the matter under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to vote on a bill that proudly bears the name of a champion and true advocate of national service. The bill is aptly named the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, and will provide the most significant expansion of national service since Senator Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy, issued his call to serve almost 50 years ago.

This bipartisan legislation is needed now more than ever. It will give Americans of all ages, from middle school students through retirement, the chance to be part of the solution to our greatest challenges--health care, education, and energy--and help us emerge from this crisis stronger.

It will put Americans to work in their communities--in classrooms and churches and homeless shelters, and beyond. It will help Americans engage in projects that matter--feeding the hungry, helping seniors live independently, cleaning up trails and building bridges, and providing for the infrastructure of this country and our public lands.

History has shown that in times of crisis, Americans turn to service and

volunteering for healing, for rebuilding, and for hope. The spirit of generosity in the American people is one of the greatest assets of our Nation. We see this every single day.

In the past week, North and South Dakota have been in a state of emergency, with communities facing severe flooding as the snow melts. As they have in so many other times of disaster, Americans showed up to help.

Officials estimate that there are tens of thousands of volunteers who have already been on the ground for days, lining the shores of the river with over 1.5 million sandbags to help stop the flooding. In Fargo, a city with a population of 90,000, 80,000 volunteers showed up to help.

They've driven through treacherous conditions from Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and beyond, ready to serve and ready to help. Today, we are acting to help them.

This bill recognizes that service is an American value. It builds upon what Americans are already doing in their communities and across the country.

We all know the urgency of this crisis--workers are losing their jobs, families are losing their income, our public infrastructure is crumbling. Communities are losing revenues and vital services.

Our public needs are growing while our resources for meeting them are disappearing. This bill will help meet some of those very urgent needs. President Obama has recognized this. He has made national service a top priority, in part because he knows it can help meet his three key priorities: Health care, energy, and education. He has asked us to usher in a new era of service, to launch a 21st century generation of volunteers and to structure a new economy for the future and sustainable growth.

He knows that volunteers play many roles. They can teach in our classrooms, they can green our communities and our schools, they can rebuild and weatherize our homes, help the uninsured find treatment in health clinics, and more. All the while, they learn valuable skills that will help them in schools and jobs throughout their lives.

Just 2 weeks ago on the steps of the Capitol I was lucky enough to meet retired Army Captain Scott Quilty, who proudly served our country in Iraq. He told us that the Service had saved his life twice--the first while in Iraq when he suffered an explosion and lost his right arm and right leg. His fellow soldiers carried him to safety and saved his life.

The second time was during his recovery at a military medical center where he relearned how to walk and how to continue on with his life. As he says, his body was shattered but his eagerness to serve remained unshaken.

Service is Captain Scott Quilty. Service is the volunteers in North Dakota and South Dakota. Service is the Americans who volunteered after 9/11, after Katrina, after Rita, and the fires and the earthquakes and the floods of California.

It is the church groups, the retired, the college students, and displaced workers all coming together to respond to the need in this country, no matter what their personal plight is. Service is giving without looking back. It's the American community. It dots our entire landscape. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act is just what this country needs at this pivotal moment in our history.

Just like any volunteer who can't do it alone, this bill could not have happened without the tireless efforts of our staff. With that, I would like to thank Denise Forte, Alex Ceja, Sarah Dyson, Stephanie Moore, Kim Zarish-Becknell, Margaret Young, Adrienne Dunbar, Fred Jones, Rachel Racuhson, Melissa Salmanowitz, and Jessica Kahawneck, and all the people from Mr. McKeon's staff. I want to thank Amy Jones, Susan Ross, Rob Borden, and James Berjeron.

I also want to thank Mr. McKeon for all of his support as the senior Republican on this committee. This has been an effort that we've worked on over the last couple of years in a bipartisan fashion.

I would also like to thank Frank Trinity, the General Counsel at the Corporation for National Service, and the staff of Senator Kennedy, Senator Hatch, and Senator Enzi.

I am so proud that this bill has already received overwhelming bipartisan support in this Chamber and in the Senate. It's because we all recognize that it isn't a Republican or Democratic issue, it's not a black or white or gray or blue or red issue. It's an American issue. I urge my colleagues to stand with me on the right side of history and support this legislation.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act establishes four new corps, including the Clean Energy Corps, to address key needs in low-income communities. The goal of the Clean Energy Corps is to encourage energy efficiency and conservation through activities such as building energy- efficient housing units in low-income communities; providing clean energy-related services designed to meet the needs of rural communities; and working with schools and youth programs to educate students and youth about ways to reduce home energy use and improve the environment.

The Clean Energy Corps also builds upon Congress' commitment to supporting America's National Parks. The bill allows for projects carried out in partnership with the National Park Service and supports projects to renew and rehabilitate national parks, like the Presidio Trust in San Francisco. Presidio is a former military base that is now a national park and has long been a site for public and community service. The Serve America Act recognizes that national parks, like the Presidio Trust, provide opportunities to not only inspire individuals through community service, but also to preserve natural treasures.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack), a member of the committee.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews).

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield myself the remainder of my time.

I want to again thank all of those who participated in the drafting, the support, the writing and the negotiations for this act.

As my colleagues have said on both sides of the aisle, this is a very important piece of legislation. It is about American values. It is about the spirit of this country. It is about our communities. And it is going to provide, with the expansion that is provided for in this legislation and supported by this administration, it is going to provide a continuum of opportunities to volunteer, to participate in community activities, to support our communities and to help those in need in so many different situations. It is going to provide them that opportunity from middle school all the way to retirement and after retirement where we are encouraging the alumni, people who participated in AmeriCorps in the past and now have picked up a lifetime of skills, talents and experience that they can, once again, turn back into service for America.

It is going to provide an opportunity for young people to not only help those in our communities but to be able to explore the career opportunities in clean energy, in green jobs, in health care, in teaching, in mentoring and social services and all of the various occupations that are available in our community where additional assistance and volunteerism has been a tradition but also needs to be expanded.

So we think this is a very rich expansion of the American values, of the volunteer system in the country. It is as old as the country, and it is as new as the future, as occupations change and opportunities change within our economy. I want to thank Carolyn McCarthy for her leadership in offering this legislation and to all of those who have supported it.

Finally, I just once again would like to say how proud I am that this legislation is named for Edward Kennedy, Senator Kennedy, not only Senator Kennedy but a family name that screams out ``service'' across this country, across generations, for the benefit, so many times over and over again, of the citizens of America.

I'm very proud to have participated in the legislative shepherding of this legislation. And I hope that all of our colleagues will join us on both sides of the aisle in support of this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I thank the Speaker, and I thank Mr. Miller and his committee.

I think it is important to note that this Congress and the leadership of this government has allegedly or in numbers been only in office less than 4 months. And the good that has been done is one that should be recognized.

Alongside of the stimulus package now, as we move forward to frame how taxpayer dollars we spend to help Americans are moving forward in the appropriations process to restore hardworking Americans, now we come to address the passion and the love of America.

I want to thank Mr. Miller. I would like to thank our good friend on the Senate side, Mr. Kennedy, my good friend Carolyn McCarthy from New York, and I want to thank them for allowing me to contribute language that allows the outreach to be broad and widespread throughout our historically and Hispanic-serving institutions of higher learning.

I was just a few days ago in an elementary class, and I was talking about what the government does. I was speaking on behalf of Teach for America. It is great fun. I love the work that our teachers do, and I was so honored for them to allow me just a small amount of time to teach those beautiful kids. We should pay tribute to our teachers.

But when I asked the question, how many of them would like to work for their country, serve their country,

clean up, help people who are suffering in the Dakotas, suffering from floods, or help the Katrina victims or Hurricane Ike victims, or be able to help, God forbid, in some tragic incident facing America, and those children raised their hands. That is what America is about.

So I rise to support this legislation, H.R. 1388, that will help improve or expand AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA, National Civilian Community Corps and Senior Corps. It will give the opportunity for green jobs. It will have America feeling good about herself because we will be out serving and improving the conservation of energy and environmental protection.

I am also very pleased that language was added in the Senate to give the opportunity to youngsters in foster care. I have worked for them. I used to be the cochair of foster care in Harris County along with a former Member of Congress, my good friend, Mike Andrews. And our job was to bolster up foster care parents and to be able to give them comfort in the care of young foster care children. Now, again, we add status to them by allowing them to further participate along with those who have disabilities.

This is a critical step for America. Every year more than 70,000 Americans participate in the AmeriCorps program alone, which provides relief to cities during national disasters and reinvigorates communities.

I thank the gentleman.

Over 50 million American volunteers build homes, organize food drives, and improve schools through national service programs. The GIVE Act will broaden the opportunities for students and activists.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Miller, this is a great day for America. It only gives them the infrastructure of what they have been crying out to do, the very question we raised with the past administration: Where there is benefit, there must be sacrifice, there must be burden. And we now have an opportunity, no matter who we are, what our capabilities, what our intellect, what our physical capabilities are, to give back to America. This is a good thing that is happening in this country, a good thing that is happening today. I rise to support H.R. 1388.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1388, the ``Generations of Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act or the `GIVE Act'.'' I would like to thank my colleague Congresswoman McCarthy for introducing this important legislation, as well as the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman George Miller, for his leadership in bringing this bill to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will expand the already highly successful volunteer programs that empower community activists and improve the education and economic conditions of cities throughout the United States. It supports and increases funding for key community services programs, including AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, VISTA, National Civilian Community Corps, and Senior Corps.

The GIVE Act creates opportunities for green jobs that will contribute to energy conservation and environmental protection. It will create critical educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth and will create incentives for students to improve their communities.

Every year, more than 70,000 Americans participate in the AmeriCorps program alone, which provides relief to cities during natural disasters and reinvigorates communities. Over 50 million American volunteers build homes, organize food-drives, and improve schools through national service programs. The GIVE Act will broaden the opportunities for students and activists to participate in national service via education rewards that keep up with soaring costs of universities and Summer Service programs. After Ike and Katrina, thousands of local students worked to help rebuild communities and provide necessary services to distressed families. The GIVE Act is the critical lynchpin in sustaining this civic activism.

The Senate Amendments to the GIVE Act would expand opportunities for youth in foster care; and allow for more participation for persons with disabilities. The GIVE Act will provide job opportunities for Volunteers in Service to America, or VISTA, to re-integrate youth into society, increase literacy in communities through teaching opportunities in before and after-school programs, and to provide health and social services to low-income communities. VISTA is a critical step toward poverty alleviation, and the GIVE Act will equip it with the resources to fulfill its obligations.

The Senate's additions would require the Corporation for National and Community Service, to enter into a contract with an entity that is not a recipient of Learn and Serve funding to conduct a 10-year longitudinal study on the impact of the service-learning activities. The entity would submit a final report to the Corporation containing the results of the study and information on best practices. The Corporation would submit the report to the authorizing committees, and would make the report available to the public on the Corporation's Web site. This provides greater transparency and accountability in the administration of these important programs.

I am pleased to see that the GIVE Act will create 4 new service opportunities including a Clean Energy Corps, an Education Corps, a Healthy Futures Corps, and a Veteran Service Corps. These volunteer opportunities will further improve environmental protection, health- care access, and services for veterans. These new service corps will address critical concerns in low-income communities. I am very happy that the revised legislation aids veterans in their pursuit of education and professional opportunities, and help veterans with the claims process, and assist rural, disabled, and unemployed veterans with transportation needs. Moreover, the GIVE Act will recognize colleges and universities that are strongly engaged in service through grants and rewards that will in turn improve educational access in the United States.

I am pleased to see the Retention of my Language from the 110th Congress that gives special consideration to historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal universities, and colleges serving predominantly minority populations.

The GIVE Act will create a Campuses of Service Program that will encourage and assist students in pursuing public service careers. It will also focus on recruiting scientists and engineers to keep America competitive for years to come. The Act will expand the Senior Corps as a way to keep Older Americans including seniors engaged in public service, and will create a Youth Engagement Zone to increase the number of young students in volunteer services.

Moreover, it expands the focus of The National Civilian Community Corps to include disaster relief efforts and infrastructure improvement to allow quicker and more effective responses to disasters like Katrina and Ike that devastated numerous communities in the United States. Finally, the GIVE Act will launch a nation-wide Call to Service Campaign that encourages all Americans to engage in national service and to recognize September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

I am honored to cosponsor this legislation that will add service before self to America's future leaders. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

I rise in support of H.R. 1388, and yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is largely the same as the GIVE Act, a bipartisan bill that this Chamber passed overwhelmingly 2 weeks ago. The other Chamber took up our version of the bill and made a few minor changes, including some that significantly improved the bill.

I would like to address a few of the key Republican provisions that were in the House bill and still remain in this bill. Additionally, I will discuss those improvements made by the Senate.

First, this bill still encourages the spirit of volunteerism--that great American trait--by updating decades-old national service programs for the 21st century. We know that national service programs can work. In fact, in the last 3 years, more than 4 million service hours have been spent helping gulf coast communities recover and rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That's 4 million hours of service made possible by the organizations and the individuals who choose to participate in national service.

But we also know these programs can be made stronger. The House bill started us down the road by ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and efficiently. This is important, because national service programs are an investment in America's future.

By design, the service and giving by individuals and organizations over time will be worth much more than the cost of the bill today. However, despite the great returns on this investment, the system must be held accountable, and it will be through regular evaluations and audits.

Another Republican priority reflected in this legislation is the creation of a new Veterans' Corps. This new corps gives former soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines a chance to serve this Nation once again, and it gives us a chance to serve them.

Of course, Republicans are directly responsible for many of the most critical parts of this legislation before us today. Last week, we offered a motion to recommit to amend this bill. We did it in such a way that would ensure taxpayer dollars would not be used for activities that we and many Americans find objectionable. We won that vote, and as we negotiated with the other chamber we insisted that the heart of these safeguards remain in place. Because of those negotiations, I can say that no Federal money will be used to perform or promote abortions; no money will go to for-profit companies, campaigns, or lobbyists; no money will be used to support voter registration drives; and, no national service participants will replace employed workers or private volunteers working on a particular project.

The Senate also strengthened the motion to recommit from the 110th Congress through an amendment offered by Senator Richard Burr. That

motion required criminal background checks for participants in the national service programs. Senator Burr's proposal strengthened this provision by requiring mandatory FBI fingerprinting for certain national service participants.

The MTR approved by the House also prohibited recipients of funding under this act from co-locating with organizations that engage in prohibited activities. This was a thoughtful and well-intentioned provision intended to ensure that organizations that would otherwise be ineligible for funding would not be able to set up dummy nonprofits in order to apply for funding.

Unfortunately, that provision would have had harmful, unintended consequences on small charities and faith-based organizations that rely on larger, unaffiliated entities for office space. Our intent was not to discriminate against small nonprofits, faith-based organizations, or charities. That is why we have revised the language to ensure that funding will never be used for the objectionable activities we have identified; but, at the same time, smaller and faith-based organizations will not be cut out of these programs simply because of where their offices are located.

Finally, the other chamber included one more change. It added a sense of Congress that calls on us to preserve the income tax deduction for charitable contributions. The national service programs depend upon substantial support from the private sector in order to work.

On top of that, if we are trying to inspire a spirit of volunteerism beyond this bill, we must provide incentives for corporations to keep up their charitable giving in these tough economic times.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill because Americans who step forward and say ``I want to help'' should be given the opportunity to do so. This bill is largely the same as the bill this chamber overwhelmingly supported a few weeks ago. Republican ideas have been adopted in this legislation in both the House and the Senate, and the bill, H.R. 1388, is stronger because of it.

I thank Chairman Miller for working together on this and making this a good bill we can all be proud of.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the subcommittee ranking member on the Healthy Families and Communities Subcommittee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts), such time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Dedicating one's time to helping others is an American trait, and a great one at that. As we said the last time this bill was before us, H.R. 1388 helps people who would like to contribute their time to help others. When these individuals see a problem or injustice, they don't look away, they step forward and say, ``I want to help.''

As their representatives, we should help these people participate in the national service programs as well, and that is why I am voting for this bill. Once again, I want to thank Chairman Miller and Chairwoman McCarthy for ensuring such an open, bipartisan process in crafting this legislation. I would also like to recognize senior Republican Platts of the subcommittee and Representative Hoekstra for their leadership. Finally, I want to recognize the hardworking staff on both sides of the aisle.

In particular I would like to thank Amy Jones, Mandy Schaumburg and Susan Ross on my staff for their efforts.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the Chair of our Health Subcommittee, for yielding to me.

I rise in support of H.R. 577, the Vision Care for Kids Act. The Vision Care For Kids Act creates a much needed grant program to provide follow-up vision care for children with vision disorders who do not have access to these services.

States have taken steps to identify children for potential vision disorders through mandatory vision screenings. However, most States do not mandate follow-up eye exams or treatment for children who fail these vision screenings.

Of the 36 States that require vision screenings, 26 of them do not require children who failed the screening to receive a follow-up exam. This lack of vision care jeopardizes a child's development and can, unfortunately, lead to lifelong vision impairment.

The Vision Care for Kids Act seeks to remedy this problem by authorizing a new grant program to complement State efforts to provide comprehensive eye exams for children who have been identified, through vision screenings or other eye exams, as having a potential vision disorder. The grant funding authorized under this bill can be used for specific treatments and services to correct the vision disorders identified through the eye exams.

Unless caught early and appropriately treated, vision disorders can lead to irreversible damage that can hinder a child's normal growth, development and opportunity to succeed. These children deserve a healthy start to their educational and social development. Yet the reality is that nearly two out of three children entering elementary school have never received preventive vision care.

Unfortunately, lack of health insurance presents a barrier to the delivery of appropriate vision care in this country. And for many children who are lucky to have health insurance for medical care, their policy doesn't cover vision coverage. This is precisely why this bill is necessary.

By targeting the program towards children who are school-aged, who do not have vision coverage for the services they require, and are at risk for vision disorders, the bill is designed to spend scarce health care dollars in the wisest manner.

A portion of the grant funds may also be used to increase education awareness of vision disorders, so that warning signs can be recognized and any problems can be detected in a timely fashion.

This bill has been crafted in a bipartisan manner with my colleague from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan), our leader on the Republican side. And I'd also like to thank Representative Eliot Engel, Representative Bill Pascrell and Representative Ros-Lehtinen for their continued support of this legislation.

I'd also like to thank the Congressional Vision Caucus for their support of the legislation. In 2003 I was joined by our colleagues, Congressman Price, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Tiberi, in establishing the Congressional Vision Caucus. As a founding member of the Caucus, I'm particularly pleased to see this bill on the floor today, and consider it a milestone for our young caucus.

Today the Vision Caucus is comprised of more than 100 Members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, House Members and Senators. While our initial goal was to raise the awareness of vision disorders in Congress, the Caucus has developed and endorsed key pieces of vision legislation, including this bill, the Vision Care for Kids Act before us today.

I'd also like to thank Chairman Waxman, Ranking Member Barton of the Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Chair and ranking member of the Health Subcommittee, Mr. Pallone and Mr. Deal, for their support.

With that, I encourage my colleagues to join me in passing this important bill to improve vision care for America's children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 577 ``Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009.'' I want to thank my colleague Congressman Gene Green of Texas for introducing this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell my colleagues that our nation's children are our future. They should be the center of all of our legislative efforts to improve the lives of all Americans.

The Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009 is a necessary grant program aimed at bolstering children's vision initiatives in the states and encouraging new community-based children's vision partnerships. This legislation amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award matching grants to states to complement existing state efforts to: (1) provide comprehensive eye examinations from a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist for children who have been previously identified through a vision screening or eye examination by a licensed health care provider or vision screener as needing such services, who do not otherwise have coverage for vision services, and who are low-income children, with priority given to children who are under the age of nine years; (2) provide treatment or services as necessary to correct identified vision problems; and (3) develop and disseminate to parents, teachers, and health care practitioners educational materials on recognizing signs of visual impairment in children.

We used to hold our child's hands when our child takes their first step. However, not many help our children to learn how to use their eyes properly, how to see properly, and how to relax their eyes and protect their vision. Today's education system requires our children to give close attention, read many books, add or subtract numbers or operate a computer for hours. Therefore, it is important to learn to guide our children to attain good child vision health at various stages of their development.

Ten million children suffer from vision disorders, according to the National Parent Teacher Association. Vision disorders are considered the fourth most common disability in the United States, and they are one of the most prevalent handicapping conditions in childhood. According to data from the Making the Grade: An analysis of state and federal children's vision care policy research study, 32 states require vision screenings for students, but 29 of them do not require children who fail the screening to have a comprehensive eye examination. Because up to two-thirds of children who fail vision screenings do not comply with recommended eye exams, many children enter school with uncorrected vision problems. Undetected and untreated vision deficiencies, particularly in children, can take a large toll. Studies have shown that the costs associated with adult vision problems in the U.S. are at $51.4 billion.

Undiagnosed and untreated vision problems for children are serious issues. Vision problems can affect a child's cognitive, emotional, neurological and physical development. While vision disorders are considered the fourth most common disability in the United States, two- thirds of all children entering school have never received a vision test. For the one-third of children who do receive a vision test, approximately 40-67 percent who fail the test do not receive the recommended follow-up care.

I urge my colleagues to support the Vision Care for Kids Act of 2009 so that we can protect our children of America.