[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11080-S11081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 3158. A bill to establish a grant program to provide comprehensive 
eye examinations to children, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Children's 
Vision Improvement and Learning Readiness Act.'' I am pleased to be 
joined by my colleague from Ohio, Senator DeWine, in this effort. 
Vision disorders are the fourth most common disability in the United 
States and the most prevalent handicapping condition among children. 
This is a startling fact when one considers that eighty percent of what 
children learn is acquired through vision processing information and 
the quality of children's eye health has a direct impact on their 
learning and achievement.
  It is estimated that almost ten percent of children have clinically 
significant vision impairment, which are associated with developmental 
delays and the need for special education, vocational, and social 
services. Specifically, studies have found that among the twenty 
percent of school age children who have a learning disability in 
reading, seventy percent have some form of visual impairment, such as 
ocular motor, perceptual or binocular dysfunction, that could interfere 
with their reading skills. The ``Children's Vision Improvement and 
Learning Readiness Act'' recognizes the importance of diagnosing vision 
disorders in children at an early age so as to allow intervention at a 
time when these disorders are highly responsive to treatment.
  Unfortunately, too many children in school today live with an 
undiagnosed vision impairment and too many times these same children 
have not had a comprehensive eye examination prior to entering school. 
In fact, only one-third of all children have had an eye examination or 
vision screening prior to entering school despite evidence that the 
earlier a vision problem is diagnosed and corrected, the less the 
potential negative impact it may have on a child's development.
  In addition, undiagnosed visual problems impose economic costs on our 
Nation. In 1995, the economic impact of visual disorders and 
disabilities was approximately $38.4 billion. Yet, early, comprehensive 
eye exams in children can help reduce the economic and social costs 
associated with undiagnosed eye disorders. Providing comprehensive eye 
examinations to children before they enter school helps to decrease 
long-term medical expenditures, prevent inappropriate placement of 
children in special education programs, and avoid social welfare 
spending by improving children's ability to learn and achieve a greater 
degree of educational and economic attainment.
  The ``Children's Vision Improvement and Learning Readiness Act'' 
gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to 
provide grants to States for a variety of educational and outreach 
activities related to improving and safeguarding the eye health and 
academic success of our nation's children. Grants may be used for the 
development of a voluntary statewide school-based comprehensive eye 
examination program for elementary school age children; the development 
of State-based education programs to increase public awareness of the 
benefits of comprehensive eye examinations; and the flexibility of 
providing comprehensive eye examinations through other related federal 
programs, such as Head Start, the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act, the Child Care Block Grant, and the Consolidated Health 
Centers programs.
  This important measure will help ensure that our nation's children 
have access to comprehensive eye examinations from qualified health 
professionals so they can start school prepared for a lifetime of 
learning and achievement. I urge my colleagues to join me and Senator 
DeWine in supporting this legislation that will help to boost the well-
being and academic achievement of our nation's school children.

[[Page S11081]]

                                 ______