<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><br>Rich, What a masterpiece!!!<br>Sent from my iPhone</div><div><br>On Feb 9, 2014, at 3:10 PM, Richard McGaffin <<a href="mailto:rmcgaffin@snet.net">rmcgaffin@snet.net</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div style="RIGHT: auto">February 9, 2014<br><br>President Barack Obama<br>The White House<br>1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.<br>Washington, DC 20500<br><br><br>Dear Mr. President:<br><br>In your January 28th State of the Union Address, and via a conference call<br>with Vice President Biden and Secretary of Labor Perez on January 29th, it<br>was announced that all contractors would be required by executive order to<br>pay their federally funded workers at least $10.10 an hour under any new<br>contracts. The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest<br>nationwide organization of blind Americans, urges you to include workers<br>with disabilities in this executive order, affirmatively and explicitly. We<br>further urge you to announce that you will sign the Fair Wages for Workers<br>with Disabilities Act (H.R. 831) if
and when that legislation reaches your<br>desk. With a Republican sponsor and substantial Democratic co-sponsorship,<br>this nonpartisan piece of legislation will responsibly phase out the<br>discriminatory practice of paying workers with disabilities less than the<br>minimum wage. <br><br>Our respect and prayers go out to Americans like Sergeant First Class Cory<br>Remsburg, who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and<br>equality we seek to enjoy as American citizens. We are thankful that<br>Sergeant Remsburg is recovering from the wounds he suffered in service to<br>this great nation. But we must point out that his value to our society is<br>not a function of the restoration of his eyesight and ability to walk, but<br>of the simple fact that he is a human being with determination, belief in<br>himself, love for the United States, and aspirations for his future. There<br>are millions of others who actively seek to serve this
nation we love with<br>our unique talents and strengths, whether or not we can benefit from<br>technology or medical intervention that will mitigate or eliminate our<br>disabilities. Some of us may be blind in both eyes; others may not be able<br>to hear; some may be unable to walk; some may have developmental<br>disabilities that require innovative interventions; and still others may<br>have other disabilities that require them to perform everyday tasks a little<br>differently. We seek to have our different characteristics embraced as<br>respected contributions to our nation's diversity, not as badges of<br>inferiority that condemn us to a life of low wages and low expectations. We<br>are no less valuable, we are no less capable, and we are no less American<br>than any other citizen.<br><br>We wholeheartedly agree with you when you say, "The America we want for our<br>kids - a rising America where honest work is plentiful and communities are<br>strong;
where prosperity is widely shared and opportunity for all lets us go<br>as far as our dreams and toil will take us - none of it is easy. But if we<br>work together; if we summon what is best in us, the way Cory summoned what<br>is best in him, with our feet planted firmly in today but our eyes cast<br>towards tomorrow - I know it's within our reach." We believe that this<br>America includes people with disabilities, and we ask you to demonstrate<br>that you believe it as well.<br><br>Sincerely,<br><br>Richard McGaffin, President of the Southern Connecticut Chapter<br>NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND<br>cc: Vice President Joseph R. Biden<br> The Honorable Thomas E. Perez<br style="RIGHT: auto"><br></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Ct-nfb mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:Ct-nfb@nfbnet.org">Ct-nfb@nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org</a></span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ct-nfb:</span><br><span><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/scrimgeo%40sbcglobal.net">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/scrimgeo%40sbcglobal.net</a></span></div></blockquote></body></html>