[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 PROMOTING HEALTHY EYES AND HEALTHY LIVES: THE CONGRESSIONAL GLAUCOMA 
                                 CAUCUS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 10, 2000

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, as one of the founders of the Congressional 
Glaucoma Caucus, I want to praise the work of a far-seeing business 
firm, the Pharmacia Corporation which encouraged and supported the 
formation of the Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus 
Foundation. The Congressional Glaucoma Caucus is a bipartisan group 
that grew out of discussions with several of my House colleagues. We 
recognized that there was a need to provide our constituents with free 
screenings for glaucoma, a devastating disease that robs a person of 
his or her sight. There is no cure for glaucoma--but it can be 
prevented if caught early enough. Unfortunately, many of our fellow 
Americans who are at highest risk for glaucoma are also unable to 
easily avail themselves of the latest in medical testing. We formed the 
Congressional Glaucoma Caucus to bring important information and 
preventive screenings to constituents in our own districts. The idea 
has gained great momentum. There are now 40 members of the 
Congressional Glaucoma Caucus and we have already held screenings in 
Florida, Illinois, New York, Tennessee, and Washington, DC. Hundreds of 
Americans have been referred for follow-up care of possible glaucoma or 
other acuity problems; hundreds of others have gone home from our 
screenings reassured that their eyes are healthy. In this effort we 
have had much help. The Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus 
Foundation was founded to bring together physicians, blindness 
prevention groups; industry spokespeople and others interested in this 
cause. The Foundation has done yeoman work in setting up the screenings 
and ensuring that they run smoothly and for that the members of the 
Caucus are profoundly grateful. A great deal of thanks is owed to the 
ophthalmologists and their staffs who have volunteered to conduct the 
actual screenings. And we owe the Pharmacia Corporation a debt of 
gratitude for its generous educational grant to the Friends of the 
Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation. Their support has been vital, 
and has meant that not one penny of anyone's tax dollars have been 
spent on this noble effort. This is truly a wonderful thing, and I 
commend everyone involved.

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