II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3685 

To establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2006 

Mr. BOND introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to provide vision care to 

children, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vision Care for Kids 

5 Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Good vision is essential for proper physical 

9 development and educational progress in growing 

10 children. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
2 

•S 3685 IS

1 (2) Many serious ocular conditions are treatable 

2 if identified in the preschool and early school-aged 

3 years. 

4 (3) Early detection of ocular conditions provides 

5 the best opportunity for effective, inexpensive treat6 ment and can have far-reaching implications for vi7 sion. 

8 (4) Various identification methods, whether vi9 sion screening or comprehensive eye exams required 

10 by State laws, will identify children needing services. 

11 A child identified through vision screening should re12 ceive a comprehensive eye exam followed by subse13 quent treatment as needed. A child identified 

14 through a comprehensive eye exam should receive 

15 subsequent treatment as needed. All children identi16 fied as needing services should have access to subse17 quent treatment as needed. 

18 SEC. 3. GRANTS REGARDING VISION CARE FOR CHILDREN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec21 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 

22 Disease Control and Prevention, may award grants to 

23 States on the basis of an established review process for 

24 the purpose of complementing existing State efforts for— 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
3 

•S 3685 IS

1 (1) providing comprehensive eye examinations 

2 by a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist for chil3 dren who have been previously identified through a 

4 vision screening or eye examination by a licensed 

5 health care provider or vision screener as needing 

6 such services, with priority given to children who are 

7 under the age of 9 years; 

8 (2) providing treatment or services, subsequent 

9 to the examinations described in paragraph (1), nec10 essary to correct vision problems; and 

11 (3) developing and disseminating, to parents, 

12 teachers, and health care practitioners, educational 

13 materials on recognizing signs of visual impairment 

14 in children. 

15 (b) CRITERIA AND COORDINATION.— 

16 (1) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation 

17 with appropriate professional and consumer organi18 zations including individuals with knowledge of age 

19 appropriate vision services, shall develop criteria— 

20 (A) governing the operation of the grant 

21 program under subsection (a); and 

22 (B) for the collection of data related to vi23 sion assessment and the utilization of follow up 

24 services. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
4 

•S 3685 IS

1 (2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall, as 

2 appropriate, coordinate the program under sub3 section (a) with the program under section 330 of 

4 the Public Health Service Act (relating to health 

5 centers) (42 U.S.C. 254b), the program under title 

6 XIX of the Social Security Act (relating to the Med7 icaid program) (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), the pro8 gram under title XXI of such Act (relating to the 

9 State children’s health insurance program) (42 

10 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), and with other Federal or 

11 State programs that provide services to children. 

12 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

13 under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary 

14 an application in such form, made in such manner, and 

15 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

16 including— 

17 (1) information on existing Federal, Federal18 State, or State-funded children’s vision programs; 

19 (2) a plan for the use of grant funds, including 

20 how funds will be used to complement existing State 

21 efforts (including possible partnerships with non22 profit entities); 

23 (3) a plan to determine if a grant eligible child 

24 has been identified as provided for in section 3(a); 

25 and 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
5 

•S 3685 IS

1 (4) a description of how funds will be used to 

2 provide items or services only as a secondary payer 

3 to— 

4 (A) any State compensation program, 

5 under an insurance policy, or under any Fed6 eral or State health benefits program; or 

7 (B) by any entity that provides health 

8 services on a prepaid basis. 

9 (d) EVALUATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under subsection (a), a State shall agree that, not later 

11 than 1 year after the date on which amounts under the 

12 grant are first received by the State, and annually there13 after while receiving amounts under the grant, the State 

14 will submit to the Secretary an evaluation of the oper15 ations and activities carried out under the grant, includ16 ing— 

17 (1) an assessment of the utilization of vision 

18 services and the status of children receiving these 

19 services as a result of the activities carried out 

20 under the grant; 

21 (2) the collection, analysis, and reporting of 

22 children’s vision data according to guidelines pre23 scribed by the Secretary; and 

24 (3) such other information as the Secretary 

25 may require. 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS
6 

•S 3685 IS

1 (e) LIMITATIONS IN EXPENDITURE OF GRANT.—A 

2 grant may be made under subsection (a) only if the State 

3 involved agrees that the State will not expend more than 

4 20 percent of the amount received under the grant to 

5 carry out the purpose described in paragraph (3) of such 

6 subsection. 

7 (f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

8 term ‘‘comprehensive eye examination’’ includes an assess9 ment of a patient’s history, general medical observation, 

10 external and ophthalmoscopic examination, visual acuity, 

11 ocular alignment and motility, refraction, and as appro12 priate, binocular vision or gross visual fields, performed 

13 by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. 

14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

15 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

16 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

17 each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

Æ 


ycherry on PROD1PC64 with BILLS