House Proceeding 03-30-09 on Mar 30th, 2009 :: 2:13:25 to 2:33:25
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2:09:25 to 2:13:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Patrick J. Kennedy

2:13:21 to 2:13:26( Edit History Discussion )

Patrick J. Kennedy: the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey.

2:13:27 to 2:13:47( Edit History Discussion )

mr. pallone: i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker, and urge passage of th the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house house concurrent resolution 60. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is agreed to, and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the

2:13:48 to 2:14:08( Edit History Discussion )

table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 577, the vision care for kids act of 2009. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman call for the bill as amended? mr. pallone: yes. and i ask make that allembers may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

2:14:09 to 2:14:29( Edit History Discussion )

Frank Jr.Pallone: the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 16, h.r. 577, a bill to establish a grant program to provide vision care to children, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, and the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, each will control 20 minutes. the ch gentleman from new jersey, mr.

2:14:15 to 2:15:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Frank Jr.Pallone

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Frank Jr.Pallone: pallone. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. pallone: i rise in support of h.r. 577, the vision care for kids act of 2009. vision proems are particularly challenging for children because they can cause developmental struggles which can lead to physical, emotional consequences.

2:14:51 to 2:15:11( Edit History Discussion )

Frank Jr.Pallone: vision impairment can cause children to miss learning opportunities, for example. and they often have an inability to understand nonverbal cues. correcting vision problems at a young age, however, can improve outcomes. the vision care for kids act would address these problems by improving access to vision services for children. the bill amends the public health services kkt act to give the secretary of health and

2:15:12 to 2:15:30( Edit History Discussion )

Frank Jr.Pallone: human services the authority to award grants to states for first comprehensive eye examinations for children needing these services. second, treatment or services to correct vision problems. and, third, development and dissemination of educational materials on recognizing signs of visual impairment.

2:15:31 to 2:15:51( Edit History Discussion )

Steve Scalise: i'd like to thank my colleague, representative green, for his spo hard work on this issue. i ask my colleagues to support the bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise. mr. scalise: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 577, the vision care for kids

2:15:35 to 2:16:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Steve Scalise

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Steve Scalise: act. this bipartisan legislation provides eye examinations and foll-up care for children who have been identified as needing vision care services. this legislation builds on state programs currently in place with a focus on helping low-income children. undiagnosed and untreated vision problems can pose learning problems for children. vision problems can have

2:16:13 to 2:16:30( Edit History Discussion )

Steve Scalise: affects on a child's emotional, educational and physical development. those who do receive a vision test and do not pass many do not receive the recomm follow-up care. . we need to continue to work

2:16:31 to 2:16:51( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: towards a system by which roadblocks to a formative education for our children are eliminated. i stand in support of this legislation and hope my colleagues will join in. mr. speaker, i resve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the sponsor, mr. green of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green,

2:16:35 to 2:20:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Mark Green

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Mark Green: is recognized for five minutes. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleague and chair of our health subcommittee for yielding to mee. i rise in support of h.r. 577, the vision care forids act. the vision care for kids act creates a much needed grant program to provide follow-up vision care for children with vision disorders who do not have

2:17:13 to 2:17:33( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: access to these services. states have taken steps to identify children for potential vision disorders to mandatory screening screenings. most states do not mandate follow-up eye examines or treatment for children who fail the screenings. 26 states do not require children who failed a screen to receive a follow-up exam.

2:17:34 to 2:17:54( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: this lack of vision care jeopardizes a child's development, can unfortunately lead to lifelong vision impairment. the vision care for kids act seeks to remedy this problem by authorizing a new grant program to complement state efforts to provide comprehensive eye exams for children who have been identified through vision screenings or other eye exammings as having a potential vision to show order. the grant funding authorized

2:17:55 to 2:18:18( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: under this bill can be used for specific treatments and services to correct the vision disorders identified through the eye exams. let's call it early and a treated, it can lead to irreversible damage that can hinder a cld's normal growth, development, and opportunity to succeed. these children deserve a healthy start to their education and social development. yet the reality is that nearly

2:18:19 to 2:18:39( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: two out of three children entering elementary school have never received preventive ce. unfortunately health insurance -- lack of health insurance prevents the care and for many children who are lucky to have health insurance, their policy doesn't cover vision coverage. this is precisely why this bill is necessary. by targeting a program toward children who are school aged who

2:18:40 to 2:19:00( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: do not have vision coverage for the services they require and at risk for vision disorders, the bill's designed to spend scarce health care dollars in the wisest manner. a portion of the grant funds may also be used to increase education awareness of vision disorder so that warning signs can be recognized and any problems can be detected in a timely fashion. this bill has been crafted in a

2:19:01 to 2:19:23( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: bipartisan manner with my colleague from oklahoma, mr. sullivan, our leader on the republican side, and also like to thank representative elliott ink enkle, representative bill pascrell, i'd also like to thank the congressional vision caucus for their suppo. in 2003 i was joined by our colleagues, congressman price,

2:19:24 to 2:19:44( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: congressman ros-lehtinen, congressman tea barry in establishing the -- tiberi in establishing the congressional vision caucus. i'm particularly pleased to see this bill on the floor today and consider it a milestone for our young caucus. today the vision caucus comprises of more than 100 members of congress, both republicans and democrats, house members, and senators. while our initial goal was to raise the awareness of vision

2:19:45 to 2:20:05( Edit History Discussion )

Mark Green: discords in congress, it has developed and endorsed key pieces of vision legislation, including this bill, before us today. i'd also like to thank chairman waxman, ranking member barton of the energy and commerce committee, as well as the chair and ranking member of the health subcommittee for their support. with that i encourage my colleagues to join me in passing this important bill to improve

2:20:06 to 2:20:27( Edit History Discussion )

John Sullivan: vision care for america's children. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green, yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana, mr.calise. mr. scalise: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. sullivan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. sullivan, is recognized for five minutes. mr. sullivan: thank you, mr. speaker.

2:20:10 to 2:22:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Sullivan

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John Sullivan: i rise in strong support of h.r. 577, the vision care for kids act of 2009. i want to thank my colleague, congressman gene green, the lead sponsor of this important legislation, and am a proud to be the lead energy and commerce committee republican on this bill. this legislation will help complement existing state efforts by providing grants for

2:20:50 to 2:21:11( Edit History Discussion )

John Sullivan: eye examinations and follow-up treatment for uninsured children who fail a vision screening. it does this by authorizing 65 million over five years in federal grant funds. millions of children in the united states suffer from vision problems. many of which go undetected because of lack of access to affordable and proper eye care.

2:21:12 to 2:21:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Sullivan: this legislation will brink a chief gap in this -- brink a chief gap -- bridge a chief gap in this vision carry. -- care. vision problems in children range from common conditions such as lazy eye and cross-eyed to more serious conditions such

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John Sullivan: as infantile cataracts. also many serious eye conditions are treatable if identifiedn preschool and early school-aged years. early detection provides th best opportunity for effective treatment and lower public health care costs for the future. according to the center for disease control and prevention, approximately 1.8 million

2:21:56 to 2:22:17( Edit History Discussion )

John Sullivan: children under the age of 18 are blind or have some form of visual iairment. also nearly two in three children do not receive any preventive vision care before starting elementary school. children who have undiagnosed vision problems can have difficulties in school and be wrongly labeled with learning disorders. the vision care for kids act

2:22:18 to 2:22:20( Edit History Discussion )

John Sullivan: seeks to change that and provide all kids the vision care they

2:22:21 to 2:22:41( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: need. again, i encourage quick adoption of this bill today and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. sullivan, yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from mr. pa -- new jersey, mr. pallone. mr. pallone: i have no additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the

2:22:25 to 2:26:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Phil Gingrey

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Phil Gingrey: gentleman from louisiana is recognized. mr. scalise: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey, is recognized for five minutes. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman for yielding. i'm very proud supporter 577, the vision care for kids act of 2009. i want to commend representative

2:23:04 to 2:23:25( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: green from texas and representative sullivan from oklahoma for bringing forward this bill. the reason why i'm here, mr. speaker, speaking on this issue as a physician member of the house is because it's very personal to me. my granddaughters, my oldest

2:23:26 to 2:23:47( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: grandchildren, are now 11 years old. they are identical twin girls, aly and hannah manning. mr. speaker, they were born prematurely. in fact, they were born immaturely. so premature at 26 weeks that each of them weighed one pound, 12 ounces.

2:23:48 to 2:24:08( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: i thank god, mr. speaker, for the blessing, the double miracles of life and health and really they have done fine, except they had problems with vision. that's because these young premature, immature infants ed, mr. speaker, to receive so much oxygen therapy in their

2:24:09 to 2:24:29( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: first weeks of life that it can damage the retina. in fact that's what happened with our twin granddaughters. and they had to have multiple surgeries, laser in fact little aly learned how to eye when she was only 5 years old. she could put it in and take it out.

2:24:30 to 2:24:50( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: again they are -- we are so blessed, their parents are blessed, my daughter and son-in-law anti-grandparents, the mannings, and we gingreys, are so thankful. but we think every day about other children who cannot afford the care, maybe cannot afford to have vision screening, and if they do, mr. speaker, and if

2:24:51 to 2:25:11( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: they are found to have limited vision, mr. sullivan talked about all the difficulties in school both emotionally and physically and educationally that they have, if they can't afford then to have somethi done about their visual problem, what a shame that is. so for us to have a bill, a program where federal grants are

2:25:12 to 2:25:33( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: given through the c.d. working with the states to make sure that each and every child not just those privileged few that happen to have good coverage could get theare that they need so they could become good, strong students and healthy and happy adults. this is a wonderful program. again i commend the committee,

2:25:34 to 2:25:54( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: energy and commerce committee. i commend mr. green, mr. sullivan, mr. pallone, mr. deal. i recommend that all of my colleagues of course support r. 577. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey, yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana, mr. ask leans, reserves the

2:25:55 to 2:26:10( Edit History Discussion )

Phil Gingrey: balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey nng. mr. pallone: i have no additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana. mr. scalise: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker gentleman yields the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: i also yield back and ask for passage, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: all

2:26:11 to 2:26:31( Edit History Discussion )

time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 577, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the air, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. broun: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested.

2:26:32 to 2:26:53( Edit History Discussion )

House Clerk: all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlema mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on

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Speech By: House Clerk

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House Clerk: rules for filing under the rule. the speaker clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 294, resolution providing for consideration of the resolution h.res. 279, providing for the expenses of certain committees of the house of representatives in the 111th congress. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. mr. hastings: thank you, mr.

2:27:31 to 2:27:51( Edit History Discussion )

House Clerk: speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from t mr. hinojosa: thank you, mr. speaker. i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1777. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1777, a bill to

2:27:52 to 2:28:12( Edit History Discussion )

House Clerk: make technical corrections to the higher education act of 1965, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. hinojosa, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. hinojosa. mr. hinojosa: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise

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House Clerk: and extend and insert extraneous material on h.r. 1777 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

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mr. hinojosa: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. hinojosa: i rise today in support of h.r. 1777, a bill to make technical corrections to the higher education act.

2:28:45 to 2:29:05( Edit History Discussion )

last year, we enacted the first re-authorization of higher education act in 10 years as the administration has moved swiftly to implement the new law, embarking on a new round of negotiated rule making, we have identified areas of the law needing technical corrections or clarifications that require our

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action today. while many of the provisions of this bill make minor corrections, there are several amendments included in h.r. 1777 in are -- that are of particular importance becau of the profound impact that they will have on students and families.

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i would like to highlight three areas that deserve special attention, mr. speaker. first, h.r. 1777 will head off a looming logjam in the plus loan program for parents. the college loan reduction and

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access act included a program to pilot using an auction mechanism for setting the rate of return for lenders in the plus loan program for parents. the auction is schedule to go into effect this year. given our fiscal climate, there is concern that there will not

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be enough bidders to hold t auction. accepting a parent loan in their financial aid package cannot complete the application until the lenders are identified through the auction process. .

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h.r. 1777 will delay the action ensuring that parents face no delay in the application process for plus loans due to uncertainty surrounding bids. h.r. 1777 also makes two important changes to ensure that veterans get the full amount of educational assistance that congress

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intended. this lislation clarifies that g.i. bill benefits are to be exempted for consideration in calculating eligibility for student financial aid. additionally, it ensures that this exemption is in place for the upcoming academic year.

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finally, h.r. 1777 will ensure that the federal government keeps its promise the borrowers who seek -- to borrowers who seek to rehabilitate their loans. in the higher education act, borrowers who have defoughted on their loans was able to restore their credit and

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rehabilitate their defaulted loans. after nine ontime payments, a borrower in default may rehabilitate the loan and clean up his credit rating. this policy is a win-win. it helps borrowerestablish a regular payment history and

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restore their credit while helping the federal government collect unpaid student loans. guaranteed agencies such as the texas guaranteed student loan corporation in my own home state of texas have been working diligently with defaulted borrowers to help them restore their credit and

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return their loans to good standing. unfortunately, the last step in the rehabilitation process occurs when the guarantee agency sells the rehabilitated loan to a lender. because of our financial cris, there are no buyers for these this means that despite doing

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everything that was required of them borrowers cannot get the benefit of rehabilitating their loan. this legislation will fix that problem by allowing guaranteed agencies to assign or to s loans that meet the rehabilitation requirements to the department of education.

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this bill also ensures that the record of default is removed from the bore -- borrower's credit rating. according to the deparent of education, without this change this year approximately 165,000 0,000 borrowers will -- 160,000