million Americans report trouble seeing, even with 
eye glasses or contacts. At least 1.1 million Ameri-
cans are legally blind, and 200,000 Americans expe-
rience profound vision loss. Refractive errors affect 
approximately one third of persons 40 years or older 
in the United States. Visual impairment is one of 
the 10 more frequent causes of disability in the 
United States. 
(2) While it is believed that half of all blindness 
can be prevented, the number of Americans who are 
blind or visually impaired is expected to double by 
2030. 
(3) Vision loss can, especially without appro-
priate rehabilitation and skills training, significantly 
impact an individual’s ability to conduct activities of 
daily living, as well as developmental learning, com-
municating, working, health, and quality of life. 
(4) One in twenty preschoolers experience visual 
impairment which, if unaddressed, can affect learn-
ing ability, personality, and adjustment in school. 
(5) It is estimated that blindness and visual im-
pairment cost the Federal Government more than $4 
billion annually in benefits and lost taxable income, 
and cost the United States economy approximately 
$51.4 billion annually in direct medical costs, direct 
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non medical costs, and indirect costs such as lost 
productivity and wages. 
(6) Vision rehabilitation helps people with vi-
sion loss to live safely and independently at home 
and in the community, reduce medication errors, 
cook and perform other daily activities reliably, and 
avoid accidents which may lead to injury or even the 
onset of additional disabilities, especially among 
older persons living with vision loss. 
(7) Recognizing that the Nation requires a pub-
lic health approach to visual impairment, the De-
partment of Health and Human Services dedicated 
a portion of its Healthy People 2010 initiative to vi-
sion. The initiative set out as a goal the improve-
ment of the Nation’s visual health through preven-
tion, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation. 
(8) Greater efforts must be made at the Fed-
eral, State, and local levels to increase awareness of 
vision loss and its causes, its impact, the importance 
of early diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, and 
effective prevention strategies. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that the Nation must have a full-scale integrated 
public health strategy to comprehensively address vision 
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loss and its causes that, at a minimum, includes the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Communication and education. 
(2) Surveillance, epidemiology, and prevention 
research. 
(3) Programs, policies, and systems change. 
SEC. 3. VISION LOSS PREVENTION. 
Part B of title III of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 317S the following: 
‘‘SEC. 317T. PREVENTIVE HEALTH MEASURES WITH RE-
SPECT TO VISION LOSS. 
‘‘(a) COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, the Health Resources and Services Administra-
tion, and the National Institutes of Health, shall ex-
pand and intensify programs to increase awareness 
of vision problems, including awareness of— 
‘‘(A) the impact of vision problems; and 
‘‘(B) the importance of early diagnosis, 
management, and effective prevention and reha-
bilitation strategies. 
‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary may— 
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‘‘(A) conduct public service announcements 
and education campaigns; 
‘‘(B) enter into partnerships with eye- 
health professional organizations and other vi-
sion-related organizations; 
‘‘(C) conduct community disease preven-
tion campaigns; 
‘‘(D) conduct testing, evaluation, and 
model training for vision screeners based on sci-
entific studies; and 
‘‘(E) evaluate strategies to reduce barriers 
to access to treatment by optometrists and oph-
thalmologists. 
‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) establish appropriate measurements 
for public awareness of vision problems; 
‘‘(B) establish appropriate measurements 
to determine the effectiveness of existing cam-
paigns to increase awareness of vision problems; 
‘‘(C) establish quantitative benchmarks for 
determining the effectiveness of activities car-
ried out under this subsection; and 
‘‘(D) not later than 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of this section, submit a 
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report to the Congress on the results achieved 
through such activities. 
‘‘(b) SURVEILLANCE, EPIDEMIOLOGY, AND HEALTH 
SERVICES RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall expand 
and intensify activities to establish a solid scientific 
base of knowledge on the prevention, control, and re-
habilitation of vision problems and related disabil-
ities. 
‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary may— 
‘‘(A) create a national ongoing surveillance 
system; 
‘‘(B) identify and test screening modalities; 
‘‘(C) evaluate strategies to reduce barriers 
to access to treatment by optometrists, ophthal-
mologists, and other vision rehabilitation pro-
fessionals; 
‘‘(D) evaluate the efficacy and cost-effec-
tiveness of current and future interventions and 
community strategies; 
‘‘(E) update and improve knowledge about 
the true costs of vision problems and related 
disabilities; and 
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