[Arizona-students] Urgent Legislative Action Needed

[Arielle Silverman]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "AB7HW Dick Lee Chrisman" <ab7hw at cox.net>
To: "Dick Lee" <dickc at nfbarizona.com>
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 7:46 PM
Subject: ACTION NEEDED: LET SECRETARY SPELLING HEAR FROM YOU


> Submitted by Ruth Swenson
>
> Home:  480-892-4344
>
> ACTION NEEDED: LET SECRETARY SPELLING HEAR FROM YOU
>
>
>
> Fellow Federationists,
>
>
>
>        First, thank you so much for all the letters you have drafted and 
> sent to Secretary Spellings.  However, we absolutely cannot get 
> complacent. Those
>
> who have been waiting to write letters must wait no more!  If you have 
> already written your letter, get a family member, a neighbor, or another 
> disabled
>
> person to write a letter-get support from anyone you can for this purpose. 
> Reach out and seek the support of all organizations in your community 
> where
>
> you have relationships.
>
>
>
> I know many of you are starting your preparation for our 
> rally/demonstration at the Department of Education in Washington on May 
> 26.  We certainly need
>
> every one of you who can attend to do so, nevertheless, this cannot keep 
> you from writing letters, or from getting others to write letters as well. 
> The
>
> small number of blind people requires us to work hard on issues of 
> concern. Fortunately, the NFB has succeeded because we do not shy away 
> from hard work.
>
>
>
> You should think of the letter-writing process as the means to build 
> pressure on Secretary Spellings.  The rally will then demonstrate our 
> public commitment
>
> as another phase of the overall effort.  When we began the letter-writing 
> campaign, I stated that we needed a prolonged operation to get Secretary 
> Spellings'
>
> attention.  This fact has not changed, so keep up your resolve!  We have 
> several more weeks ahead of us and the letters must keep coming.
>
>
>
> I recognize that some of you are a bit unsure of what it is important to 
> say in your letter.  I provided you a sample that hits all of the major 
> points,
>
> but I never intended it to be used word for word or to imply that all of 
> the points had to be included.  Remember that it is important for you to 
> personalize
>
> your letters.  The contributions rehab has made to your independence and 
> employment, or those you expect it to make for you are also things to be 
> shared.
>
>
>
> Ms. Spellings knows next to nothing about rehabilitation and the critical 
> role it plays in our lives; therefore we need to help her learn, and 
> through her
>
> learning, hopefully she will come to understand.  I have some good 
> examples of compelling letters to provide you that may offer ideas you had 
> not considered.
>
>
>
> Secretary Spellings has two email addresses; please use both of them. 
> Email and fax are the best means to reach Secretary Spellings, but for 
> those of you
>
> who lack access to these methods, I am providing a phone number as well. 
> Her email address (in care of her assistant) is Christina.Wilson at ed.gov, 
> and
>
> her other email address is Margaret.spellings at ed.gov.  Her fax number is 
> 202-401-0596.  Her phone number is 202-401-3000.
>
>
>
> It is very important that we write the Secretary of Education.  Recall 
> though that we need you to send copies of your letters to your two 
> Senators, and
>
> to your Representative.  I also need a copy of the letter you send the 
> Secretary of Education.  Your commitment to this important matter is 
> appreciated.
>
> Keep up the good work.
>
>
>
> James McCarthy
>
> Director of Governmental Affairs, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
>
> 1800 Johnson Street
>
> Baltimore Maryland, 21230
>
> Phone: (410) 659-9314 Extension 2240
>
>
>
> [This letter is very short, but it hits key points and the writer does a 
> good job of personalizing her comments.]
>
>
>
> When I became blind in 1990, my state rehabilitation services provided me 
> with the equipment, knowledge, and training to achieve independence and 
> self-confidence.
>
>
>
> I am president of a local organization of blind people in my county. 
> After bringing to their attention the proposed budget cuts to the 
> rehabilitation services,
>
> they encouraged me to write to you with our concerns.  All of the members 
> of our organization have benefited from services received through our 
> state rehabilitation
>
> service agency, and want to see people who are newly blind receive the 
> same training. Without adequate services, blind individuals will find it 
> difficult
>
> to find independence and gainful employment.
>
>
>
> It is hard to imagine state agencies that serve the blind could continue 
> to operate in an efficient way, if half the staff is cut and regional 
> offices are
>
> closed.  Also alarming, is the division of the blind becoming obsolete as 
> part of the proposed reorganization.  Without the Division of the Blind, 
> many
>
> consumers, vendors, and seniors will not receive adequate services, 
> preventing them from living a full and productive life.
>
>
>
> Finally, we wish to see the status of the RSA head remain a commissioner 
> rather than that of a mere director.  Lessening the importance of the head 
> of the
>
> RSA will weaken the RSA commission and deny the ability of blind and 
> disabled people independence and job placement.
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> [This second writer is well-informed about rehab, and followed the sample 
> letter as a guide, but used little of its actual content.]
>
>
>
> Dear Secretary Spellings:
>
>
>
> I am a blind person who, throughout the course of my life, has received 
> many beneficial services from our state/federal vocational rehabilitation 
> system.
>
> With the help of this system, I have been able to maintain successful and 
> productive employment for more than thirty years.  Having dealt personally 
> with
>
> no less than four state agencies providing services to the blind and 
> having also worked with other blind people around the country to obtain 
> the best services
>
> possible from various state agencies, I would be the first person to tell 
> you that the system as we know it today is not perfect.  However, compared 
> to
>
> everything else--particularly, the services available (or should I say not 
> available) through our one-stop system of workforce centers, the 
> rehabilitation
>
> system as it now exists represents the best chance for the blind to 
> achieve any kind of independence, employment, and success in our society. 
> Why, then,
>
> Secretary Spellings, does it appear that the Bush administration has 
> declared war against the blind and other people with disabilities?
>
>
>
> 1.      I have received information indicating that the Rehabilitation 
> Services Administration (RSA) will be cutting more than half of its staff 
> nationwide
>
> and closing all of its regional offices.  I am told that the monitoring of 
> the state agencies providing critical rehabilitation services will be 
> performed
>
> by staff in Washington, D.C.  It stretches credibility beyond belief to 
> imagine how such monitoring will continue to be performed with the same 
> timeliness
>
> and quality when more than half of the RSA staff has been eliminated.  It 
> has been said that rehabilitation should follow an oversight model that is 
> similar
>
> to that used in Education, where money flows from Washington directly to 
> State departments which, in turn, actually perform the oversight 
> functions. What
>
> this line of thinking fails to recognize is that today, there is no 
> capability within the states to perform the monitoring and oversight of 
> rehabilitation
>
> agencies with the depth and breadth of understanding that exists within 
> the RSA regional offices.  From my perspective, the announced reductions 
> within
>
> RSA are ill timed, poorly planned, and disrespectful of the desires of 
> people with disabilities who want a rehabilitation system that reflects a 
> philosophy
>
> of empowerment and hope--something which was beginning to happen under the 
> administration of Joanne Wilson, RSA's last commissioner.
>
>
>
> 2.      The administration's cavalier treatment of people with 
> disabilities, as represented by its plans to eviscerate RSA, causes me to 
> worry with some
>
> justification that the Division for the Blind within RSA will be next on 
> the chopping block.  This division liaisons with states operating separate 
> agencies
>
> and/or programs for the blind and provides essential guidance to the 
> states in the management of their Randolph-Sheppard and Independent Living 
> for Older
>
> Blind programs.  Perhaps more important, the existence of the Division for 
> the Blind sends a clear message that the Federal Government recognizes the 
> unique
>
> and specialized service requirements of people who are blind.  This 
> division must not be destroyed in the quest to save money and streamline 
> the Rehabilitation
>
> Services Administration.  If the division is quashed, who else will 
> understand the subtleties and complexities that training in Braille, 
> independent travel,
>
> and nonvisual access technology entails?
>
>
>
> 3.      The Bush administration has also been pushing for something called 
> WIA Plus, a provision which, if adopted, would permit states to 
> consolidate vocational
>
> rehabilitation funds with other, unrelated job training funds.  This 
> ill-conceived approach would virtually eliminate any pre-vocational or 
> independence
>
> training for the blind--training that is essential if a blind person is to 
> compete in the labor market on a basis of equality with others.  Also, 
> those
>
> states adopting the WIA Plus consolidation option would be monitored by 
> the Department of Labor instead of the Rehabilitation Services 
> Administration;
>
> the former has neither the knowledge of rehabilitation nor the positive 
> track record of providing the blind with full and equal access to its 
> Workforce
>
> Centers.  WIA Plus would, in effect, wipe out the gains that have already 
> been made under the Rehabilitation Act having to do with informed choice, 
> personal
>
> empowerment, and an increased focus on integrated competitive employment.
>
>
>
> 4.      The Administration continues to press for the demotion of the RSA 
> Commissioner position, currently appointed by the President with 
> confirmation
>
> by the Senate, to a Director position that requires neither.  This is yet 
> another indication that the administration is committed to a course of 
> action
>
> that would severely damage the provision of rehabilitation services in 
> this country at the expense of all people with disabilities--including the 
> blind.
>
>
>
> When taken together, all of the aforementioned proposals by the Bush 
> Administration demonstrate a callous disregard for the blind and other 
> people with
>
> disabilities.  They also fail to recognize the significant gains that have 
> been made in the programs on which we depend to achieve independence and 
> self
>
> sufficiency.  The Bush Administration should not be trying to dismantle 
> rehabilitation, it should work to strengthen and improve the system.  It 
> should
>
> take its cue from people with disabilities who, over the years, have 
> understood what rehabilitation needs and have worked to incorporate 
> reforms into the
>
>
>
> Rehabilitation Act.
>
>
>
> Under the President's new Freedom Initiative, there is an expressed 
> commitment to independence and integration for people with disabilities. 
> For me, a
>
> blind person, the rehabilitation system offers the very best promise for 
> this commitment to become a reality.  The system, when properly 
> understood, should
>
> be providing me with the services, skills, and support I need to become 
> fully integrated into the community on a parity with my sighted friends, 
> peers,
>
> and coworkers.
>
>
>
> Please give close attention to the points I have raised in this letter and 
> reverse the destructive trend that has been started by forces hostile to 
> quality
>
> rehabilitation in the United States.
>
>
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
>
>