[nfb-talk] Legislative Agenda For The 110th Congress:

[Kenneth Chrane]

Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:

Priorities for the 110th Congress, First Session



            The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the Voice of the 
Nation's Blind.  We present the collective views of blind people throughout 
society.  All of our leaders and the vast majority of our members are blind, 
but anyone can participate in our movement.  Every year approximately 75,000 
people become blind in America, and there are an estimated 1.3 million blind 
people in the U.S.  The social and economic consequences of blindness affect 
not only the blind, but also our families, our friends, and our coworkers.



            Three legislative initiatives require the immediate attention of 
the 110th Congress.  These urgent action items include:



1.         We urge Congress to require higher-education textbook publishers 
to produce electronic editions for blind students in an accessible standard 
format.  This can be accomplished by enacting legislation that will:

§         Within six months of enactment require the Secretary of Education 
to establish a national nonvisual access standard for higher-education 
textbooks and supplemental reading materials.  This standard should be based 
on the national access standard used in elementary and secondary education, 
with appropriate modifications made for use in higher education.

§         Within one year of enactment designate a National Higher Education 
Textbook Access Center to receive electronic text editions from publishers 
and provide them to qualified blind students and instructors upon request. 
The Center should determine student eligibility based on criteria and 
procedures currently used by government entities and nonprofit organizations 
that produce books and other materials for blind readers.

§         Within two years of enactment require publishers to provide the 
Center with at least one electronic copy of each edition of every textbook 
published, which must be prepared in accordance with the national access 
standard.  This obligation should apply to textbooks and supplemental 
reading materials intended for use by students or faculty in a higher 
education course and should take effect at the time the textbook or 
supplemental reading material is first available.



2.         We urge Congress, in considering amendments to the Help America 
Vote Act (HAVA), to affirm the right of the blind to vote independently and 
in private.  Enacted legislation should:

§         Assure blind voters access to the entire voting system, including 
any mechanism for independent verification;

§         Assure that ballots of voters using accessibility features are not 
segregated from ballots of voters who do not use such features;

§         Make Federal funds available to reimburse jurisdictions for the 
cost of upgrading existing voting systems or purchasing new ones in order to 
meet accessibility requirements; and

§         Provide voters the ability to individually seek redress of 
grievances that may arise in the voting process.





3.         We urge Congress to amend Title II of the Social Security Act to 
mandate a schedule of increases in the level of earnings allowed for blind 
individuals before applying a work penalty, as follows:

§         For 2008 $21,600

§         For 2009 $26,400

§         For 2010 $30,000

§         For 2011 $34,200

§         For 2012 the amount applicable to individuals who attain Full 
Retirement Age in that year.



            For more information about these priorities, please consult the 
attached fact sheets.



            Other priorities that may present opportunities for legislative 
action in this session of Congress include:

§         Assuring that blindness cannot be a factor to justify payment of 
less than minimum wage under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act;

§         Bringing congressional oversight to bear on the threat posed to 
the safety of blind pedestrians by electric, hybrid, and other increasingly 
prevalent types of vehicles that minimize the use of combustion engines, 
making them too quiet to be heard;

§         Directing the National Library Service for the Blind and 
Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress to provide a means for 
rapid dissemination of electronic versions of national and local newspapers 
and periodicals to registered blind persons on a nationwide basis through 
use of high-speed computers and telecommunications technologies;

§         Supporting full funding for the transition of the Talking Books 
program of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically 
Handicapped of the Library of Congress from analog to digital technology;

§         Reauthorizing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, as part 
of the Workforce Investment Act to increase consumer empowerment and enhance 
informed choice;

§         Applying the electronic and information technology procurement 
standards contained in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to institutions 
of higher education and government grantees to improve access for blind 
employees and members of the public who use the technology;

§         Amending the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act to allow blind and disabled 
persons to receive competitive compensation and opportunities for career 
advancement, as well as to prevent fraud and abuse in the program 
established under this Act; and

§         Preserving and enhancing opportunities available under the 
Randolph-Sheppard Act for blind men and women to operate vending businesses 
on federal property.



            For more information on any of these priorities, please contact 
James McCarthy, Director of Governmental Affairs for the National Federation 
of the Blind, or visit us online at www.nfb.org.



Blind Americans need your help to achieve our goals of economic security, 
increased opportunity, and full integration into American society on a basis 
of equality.  Enactment of these legislative proposals will represent 
important steps toward reaching these goals.  We need the help and support 
of each member of Congress.  Our success benefits not only us, but the whole 
of America as well.