With health care on the minds of so many government officials these days, representatives from Prevent Blindness America will be hitting Capitol Hill today to promote the importance of vision and eye health through its Eyes on Capitol Hill initiative. The organization is also encouraging people to call their U.S. senators and representatives to let them know the value of eye health. “For the sixth straight year, Prevent Blindness America has worked to bring together those whose lives have been profoundly touched by some type of vision issue — eye disease, an eye accident, or the eye health of a loved one. We are excited to give them an opportunity to speak with their Congressman or Senator to give first-hand testimonies of the need for expanding existing eye health programs and funding,” says Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. Prevent Blindness America is advocating Congress for the following four issues:
- Provide at least $3.23 million in FY 2012 to maintain vision and eye health efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Support the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health in developing a public health infrastructure to promote and ensure a continuum of vision and eye health care for children.
- Provide additional resources to the National Eye Institute in order to bolster efforts to identify the underlying causes of eye disease and vision loss, improve early detection and diagnosis, and advance prevention and treatment efforts.
- Join the Congressional Vision Caucus, a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress dedicated to strengthening and stimulating a national dialogue on the importance of vision health.
Visit the Prevent Blindness America website for more details on these four provisions.