Meetings held with various elected officials, discussing legislative & regulatory issues of priority to the industry
Alexandria, VA (July, 2015) – Joined by representatives from various member companies, The Vision Council held its annual Government and Regulatory Affairs Capitol Hill Fly-In highlighting its ongoing efforts to bridge relationships between member companies and their elected officials.
This full day of meetings with representatives and their offices stressed topics of high priority to the industry, including:
- The Affordable Care Act’s pediatric essential vision benefit, and the need to classify it as a preventive essential benefit when the ACA essential benefits are reviewed by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2016
- Support for HR 1185, effectively increasing the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) spending limit from $2,500 to $5,000
- Applications filed with the FDA by The Vision Council’s members for Unique Device Identifier (UDI) exemption under Class 1 medical devices, and alternate plans for a letter signed by Members of Congress if the FDA not approve the initial application.
“As the representative of the manufacturers and suppliers of the optical industry, our members need and expect The Vision Council to give a voice to their concerns on Capitol Hill,” said Mike Daley, CEO of The Vision Council. “Our annual Government and Regulatory Affairs Capitol Hill Fly-In allows us to bring together key Members of Congress with representatives from our member organizations to shine light on the latest issues affecting the industry, and ensure the best possible outcomes for the future of our members.”
The Vision Council’s Government Affairs Committee members represent companies from several divisions. Represented at the Fly In were member companies including Hoya, Zeiss, Wal-Mart, Charmant USA, Enso Eyewear, Expert Optical, Vision-Ease Lens, Transitions Optical, and ClearVision Optical.
Meetings were held with multiple elected officials and their offices, including:
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
- Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX)
- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
- Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
- Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ)
- Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
- Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL)
- Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY)
- Rep. David Jolly (R-FL)
- Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
- Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)
- Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA)
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
- Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ)
- Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR)
Both nationally on Capitol Hill, within the federal agencies, and back home in the local districts and states, The Vision Council strives to educate, cultivate and strengthen key relationships with elected officials and decision-makers that have oversight of the optical industry. It remains imperative and an important goal for The Vision Council to serve as the go-to expert and resource for all policymakers interested in the eyewear frame and lens community.
Via The Vision Council
