,,iii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #bbb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #bc 7legislative day1 ,may #bb71 #bjai ,mr4 ,coons 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,cassidy1 ,mr4 ,carper1 ,mr4 ,perdue1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,toomey1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mrs4 ,hyde-,smith1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,ms4 ,sinema1 ,mr4 ,romney1 ,mr4 ,burr1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mrs4 ,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,schatz1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4 ,roberts1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,isakson1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 and ,mr4 ,udall7 submitted the following resolution2 which was considered and agreed to ,,resolution ,recognizing ,vision ,to ,learn as a national leader in improving access to prescription eyeglasses for students in low-income communities1 thereby helping those students succeed in school1 and for providing vision exams to #bjj1jjj students since its founding4 ,whereas1 on ,march #bg1 #bjab1 ,vision ,to ,learn was founded by ,austin and ,virginia ,beutner in ,los ,angeles1 ,california1 to address the problem of students in low-income communities lacking the glasses needed for those students to succeed in school and in life2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn began with a single mobile vision clinic1 staffed with an eye doctor and an optician-- 7#a7 visiting ,napa ,street ,elementary1 a ,los ,angeles ,unified ,school ,district campus in ,northridge1 ,california2 and 7#b7 providing #e students with vision exams and prescription eyeglasses free of charge2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn operates #be mobile vision clinics1 which have provided vision exams to #bjj1jjj students in #ac ,states1 including-- 7#a7 ,california2 7#b7 ,delaware2 7#c7 ,georgia2 7#d7 ,hawaii2 7#e7 ,iowa2 7#f7 ,louisiana2 7#g7 ,maryland2 7#h7 ,michigan2 7#i7 ,mississippi2 7#aj7 ,new ,jersey2 7#aa7 ,north ,carolina2 7#ab7 ,pennsylvania2 and 7#ac7 ,virginia2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn has leveraged partnerships with ,state ,medicaid programs and other organizations1 including the ,united ,way of ,iowa1 ,prevent ,blindness ,iowa1 and the ,longwood ,foundation in ,delaware1 to increase program stability and further expand access to vision services2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn is leading an effort by educators and eye care professionals to raise awareness of the inability of some students to see clearly due to correctable myopia or hyperopia1 a basic educational hurdle impacting over #b1jjj1jjj students nationwide that can be solved by providing students with a basic vision exam and a pair of prescription glasses2 ,whereas the innovative mobile vision clinic model developed by ,vision ,to ,learn delivers basic eye care to students at school1 where the students are every day1 thereby bypassing common hurdles preventing children from seeing an eye doctor1 such as-- 7#a7 the inability of a parent or guardian to take time off of work2 7#b7 a lack of transportation2 7#c7 a shortage of eye care providers accepting ,medicaid2 and 7#d7 a misunderstanding of the cost or necessity of eye care2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn has demonstrated the ability of mobile vision clinics to provide access to care for students in both urban and rural communities2 ,whereas1 by reaching students who have never visited an eye doctor and providing those students with a first pair of glasses1 ,vision ,to ,learn introduces students and parents to the need for ongoing eye care1 making it more likely that those students and parents will seek out regular exams from a local optometrist or ophthalmologist2 ,whereas the program developed by ,vision ,to ,learn identifies thousands of students with more serious eye conditions and refers those students to local eye doctors for follow-up exams1 in many cases intervening before students experience permanent vision loss2 ,whereas1 in an effort to quantify the impact of ,vision ,to ,learn on the ability of students to access optometric care1 the performance of students in school1 and the behavior of students in the classroom1 the program developed by ,vision ,to ,learn has been studied by health and educational researchers at-- 7#a7 the ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles1 ,mattel ,children's ,hospital 7referred to in this preamble as ,,ucla ,mattel ,children's ,hospital72 7#b7 the ,california ,health and ,human ,services ,agency1 ,department of ,health ,care ,services2 and 7#c7 ,the ,johns ,hopkins ,wilmer ,eye ,institute2 ,whereas the study carried out by ,,ucla ,mattel ,children's ,hospital found that-- 7#a7 after receiving glasses1 students were able to pay better attention in class1 were more engaged1 and were more willing to complete their schoolwork1 all of which contributed to better overall school performance2 and 7#b7 ,serving students in school rather than referring them to an outside optometrist increased both access to and use of glasses by both making it easier for families to obtain glasses and changing the school culture to decrease the stigma associated with wearing glasses42 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn seeks to make the experience of getting glasses fun for children-- 7#a7 by partnering with sports teams1 such as-- 7,a7 the ,los ,angeles ,dodgers2 7,b7 the ,los ,angeles ,clippers2 7,c7 the ,golden ,state ,warriors2 7,d7 the ,atlanta ,hawks2 7,e7 the ,detroit ,pistons2 7,f7 the ,san ,jose ,sharks2 and 7,g7 the ,baltimore ,ravens2 and 7#b7 by having professional athletes participate in events at schools where children get glasses2 ,whereas the service level of ,vision ,to ,learn has grown an average of #ej percent every year1 bringing critical vision services to thousands of additional children1 with the ultimate goal that no child in the ,united ,states go to school without the glasses needed for that child to see clearly2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn is a public-private partnership combining funding from community and corporate foundations and private donors1 reimbursement from ,medicaid and the ,children's ,health ,insurance ,program1 and ,state and local matching funds to support a sustainable program that will help students for years to come2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn has demonstrated that the program model developed and used by ,vision ,to ,learn represents a realistic1 affordable pathway to eliminating lack of glasses as an educational barrier to students nationwide2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn has collaborated with partners in the eye-health and education sectors who have greatly aided ,vision ,to ,learn in reaching the milestone of helping #bjj1jjj students1 including-- 7#a7 ,rotary ,international ,clubs2 7#b7 ,the ,johns ,hopkins ,wilmer ,eye ,institute2 7#c7 the ,essilor ,vision ,foundation2 7#d7 ,warby ,parker2 7#e7 ,helen ,keller ,international ,child,sight2 7#f7 the ,university of ,california1 ,los ,angeles1 ,stein ,eye ,institute2 7#g7 ,project ,vision ,hawaii2 7#h7 ,western ,university ,college of ,optometry2 7#i7 ,prevent ,blindness ,northern ,california2 7#aj7 ,classic ,optical ,laboratories2 7#aa7 ,capital ,optical2 7#ab7 ,klauer ,optical2 7#ac7 the ,california ,school ,nurses ,organization2 7#ad7 ,hawaii ,keiki3 ,healthy ,ready to ,learn2 7#ae7 ,conexus2 7#af7 the ,baltimore ,city ,health ,department2 7#ag7 the ,detroit ,health ,department2 7#ah7 the ,kent ,county ,health ,department2 7#ai7 the ,california ,teachers ,association2 and 7#bj7 school nurses throughout the areas served by ,vision ,to ,learn2 ,whereas ,vision ,to ,learn has been recognized as a leader in the field-- 7#a7 by the ,campaign ,for ,grade-,level ,reading1 which named ,vision ,to ,learn a ,pacesetter ,program in #bjad2 7#b7 by the ,white ,house ,initiative on ,educational ,excellence for ,hispanics1 which named ,vision ,to ,learn a ,bright ,spot in ,hispanic ,education in #bjae2 7#c7 by the ,california ,teachers ,association1 which presented the ,state ,gold ,award to ,vision ,to ,learn in #bjac2 7#d7 in letters of commendation from-- 7,a7 ,house ,speaker ,nancy ,pelosi2 7,b7 ,representative ,maxine ,waters2 and 7,c7 the ,ronald ,reagan ,library2 and 7#e7 in newspaper op-eds by-- 7,a7 ,senator ,chris ,coons2 7,b7 ,delaware ,governor ,jack ,markell2 7,c7 ,richmond1 ,virginia1 ,mayor ,levar ,stoney2 7,d7 ,long ,beach1 ,california1 ,mayor ,robert ,garcia2 7,e7 ,detroit1 ,michigan1 ,mayor ,mike ,duggan2 7,f7 ,wilmington1 ,delaware1 ,mayor ,michael ,purzycki2 and 7,g7 former ,mississippi ,governor ,haley ,barbour2 ,whereas1 according to the ,american ,optometric ,association1 uncorrected vision conditions affect #a in every #d children1 yet only #ci percent of students referred to an eye exam through a routine vision screening actually end up seeing an eye doctor1 and this discrepancy is far worse in high-poverty communities of color2 and ,whereas addressing the basic eye care needs of students is an often overlooked but critical strategy to improve the educational attainment of those students3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 congratulates ,vision ,to ,learn on helping #bjj1jjj students2 7#b7 recognizes ,vision ,to ,learn as a national leader in providing school-based vision care and commends the strides the organization has made in that effort2 and 7#c7 supports the mission of ,vision ,to ,learn to ensure that no child goes without the glasses needed for that child to succeed in school and in life4