Keep an eye on Washington this week as the American Optometric Association (AOA) – an advocacy group that spends nearly $2 million a year lobbying on the federal level alone – is flying thousands of its representatives to Washington to pressure lawmakers into backing their crony legislation.

The AOA is actively looking for Members of Congress to re-introduce their crony legislation, the Contact Lens Consumer Health Protection Act (CLCHPA). This bill is the first step in the AOA plan to completely ban third-party lens sellers, such as Walmart, Costco, and a multitude of online sellers. This is cronyism run amok. If passed, CLCHPA will give eye-care specialists the unlimited power to veto prospective third-party transactions. Current law provides a window for specialists to act. However, CLCHPA will give the AOA the control to pocket-veto transactions by simply refusing to respond to the patient’s request.

The ‘eye and mighty’ AOA is not seeing things straight when it comes to banning their competition. The Republican-controlled Congress can’t let this crony eyesore be pushed through on their watch.