[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.
                                 <all>