[Home-on-the-range] Blind Kansas Urge Congress Persons and Senators to Cosponsor Legislation

[Tom Page]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Tom Page
1st Vice President 
National Federation of the Blind of Kansas
316-267-7868
topage at swbell.net

[Photo Caption:  National Federation of the Blind of Kansas members pose with Congressman Yoder, from left to right: Serena Nickell (Secretary South Central Chapter, Congressman Kevin Yoder, Rob Tabor (President, Jayhawk Chapter), and Donna Wood (President, Kansas affiliate)]

BLIND KANSANS URGE CONGRESS TO ADOPT LEGISLATION ON FAIR WAGES AND EQUAL ACCESS

Wichita, Kans. (March 12, 2013): In February seven Kansans joined over 500 members of the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) in Washington D.C. to present issues important to blind Americans to their congress people. Representatives from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were in attendance. NFB members from Wichita and Lawrence called upon the Kansas delegation to cosponsor legislation on fair wages for disabled people, student access to instructional materials and rights for blind Veterans. 

The National Federation of the Blind of Kansas (NFBKS) has been working locally to increase awareness of the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013. This legislation would abolish a little known provision (Section 14C) of the Fair Labor Standards Act which allows disabled persons to be employed at less than the federal minimum wage. (More information is available at http://www.nfb.org.) On August 25, 2012 they joined with 79 other state affiliates in a national day of protest, targeting Goodwill Industries, one of the organizations well known for its use of subminimum wage labor. The NFB, through the Freedom of Information Act has since discovered other Kansas workshops, such as Envision, pay as little as 21 cents per hour. 

"We are proud to celebrate Representative Gregg Harper’s (R-MS) commitment to the Fair Wages for Workers Act,” stated Donna Wood, President of NFBKS. “We urge the members of the congress from Kansas to join with him in guaranteeing fair treatment under the law for blind and disabled workers.”

Other legislation being introduced to Congress by the NFB will help ensure equal access for blind students and Veterans. The Technology, Education and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH), created in partnership with the Association of American Publishers, follows up on recommendations made by a congressionally appointed task force to create access standards for instructional materials and create a repository of materials which blind or print impaired students can access. 

“The recent introduction of electronic courseware and E-books has further tilted an already unequal playing field. Swift action must occur to assure blind students receive appropriate educations,” say Rob Tabor, President Jayhawk Chapter

The Equal Access to Air Travel for Service-Disabled Veterans Act (HR 164), introduced by Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and the introduction of S. 346 by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) seeks to correct an oversight which has excluded 100 percent service disabled veterans from being included in the “space available” program, which allows active military personnel, Red Cross employees, reservists, retirees and others to travel for no charge on military flights on a space available basis. 

The Kansas affiliate of the NFB, the state’s largest organization of blind citizens, now calls upon the Kansas members of the U.S. House and Senate to co-sponsor these important bills.

 “We believe that it would be very appropriate for Kansan's to take the lead on these important moral issues,” states Wood.  “We have brought them our concerns and now we are requesting action or explanation”.

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About the National Federation of the Blind 
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nations blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.  For more information please visit: http://www.nfb.org




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