[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5648 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5648

To establish a grant program to provide comprehensive eye examinations 
                  to children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 16, 2002

 Mr. Pascrell (for himself, Ms. Brown of Florida, Ms. Norton, and Mrs. 
 Christensen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on the 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 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     The 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 six 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, 
        with priority given to school-based programs for children who 
        are under the age of nine; and
            (2) developing and disseminating, to parents, teachers, and 
        the public, educational materials with regard to the need and 
        benefits of comprehensive eye examinations for children.
    (b) 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 programs that provide services to children.
    (c) Relationship to Payments Under Other Programs.--A grant may be 
made under subsection (a) only if the State involved agrees that the 
State will not make payments from the grant for any item or service to 
the extent that payment has been made, or can reasonably be expected to 
be made, with respect to such item or service--
            (1) under any State compensation program, under an 
        insurance policy, or under any Federal or State health benefits 
        program; or
            (2) by an 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 one 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) a description of the health status outcomes of children 
        provided with assistance under the grant;
            (2) an assessment of the utilization of comprehensive eye 
        examination services as a result of the activities carried out 
        under the grant;
            (3) the collection, analysis, and reporting of 
        comprehensive eye examination data according to guidelines 
        prescribed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention; and
            (4) such other information as the Secretary may require.
    (e) 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 a plan for the use 
of the grant.
    (f) 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, and assessment of gross visual fields performed by an 
optometrist or an ophthalmologist.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 
for fiscal year 2003, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
fiscal years 2004 through 2006.
                                 <all>