Click here to contact the Blog Editor
VNB readers know that the National Federation of the Blind is working to secure full funding for the conversion of Talking Books provided by the Library of Congress from obsolete cassette technology to digital technology. The following item appeared in the Sunday “On the Hill” column in the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
The head of the National Federation of the Blind in Louisiana is asking Congress to increase financing proposed by the Bush administration to speed the conversion of the federal recorded book program for the blind from analog cassettes to digital-talking books. In a letter to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who oversees the Senate Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the program, Federation President Pamela Allen said the president's request for $12.5 million would mean a six-year delay in implementation. That kind of delay, she said, means thousands of Americans would lose access to the books. A House subcommittee voted to appropriate $34.5 million for the program, which would allow the transition to occur in three years, she said. Stephanie Allen, a Landrieu spokesman and no relationship to the federation president, said Landrieu is committed to financing that will allow the transition to occur in four years. The program now serves about 800,000 Americans, including nearly 7,000 in Louisiana.
You can read the entire column here. While Senator Landrieu’s commitment to a four-year funding plan is admirable, the National Federation of the Blind will continue to encourage her subcommittee to match the funding appropriated by the House subcommittee so that blind Americans will have increased access to literacy as soon as possible.
Last week, to the surprise of many, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court ruling that the paper money of the United States discriminates against blind people. The National Federation of the Blind opposed the lawsuit claiming discrimination by the United States Department of the Treasury, and we have expressed our opinion that the ruling which has just been upheld is flawed in its reasoning and based on emotionalism rather than evidence. The National Federation of the Blind is not, and never has been, categorically opposed to the modification of paper money to make it more convenient for blind people to use. Our position with respect to the court’s ruling was articulated clearly and thoroughly by President Maurer in an article in the February 2007 issue of the Braille Monitor. In that article, Dr. Maurer said:
“… The currency contains identifiable visual markings for the sighted. Why could it not also contain tactilely identifiable markings for the blind? Undoubtedly such currency could be manufactured. However, if no need for it has been demonstrated, the decision to produce such currency is a matter for policy determination by the government rather than a requirement imposed by law.”
Dr. Maurer went on to point out that the court ruled that paper money discriminates against the blind without any evidence to show that the blind are regularly defrauded. Without such evidence, Dr. Maurer said, the court should not assume that the lack of non-visual mechanisms for identifying paper money results in discrimination against blind people. The ruling implies that the blind are incapable of taking steps to prevent being defrauded or of detecting fraud when it occurs. The ruling only contributes to the negative attitudes and stereotypes held by the general public about blind people without addressing a serious problem experienced by the blind. That is why the National Federation of the Blind opposed the lawsuit and why the blind of America are deeply concerned about the implications of this ruling.
Pursuant to the policy of the National Federation of the Blind as articulated by the national convention, the NFB has engaged in public relations activities to counter the misperceptions about the capabilities of blind people created by the ruling. Dr. Maurer issued a statement, and John G. Paré Jr., the executive director for strategic initiatives of the National Federation of the Blind, was interviewed on the Fox Business Network. VNB will continue to keep readers informed about this issue.
Previously Published Voice of the Nation's Blind Articles