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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Washington seminar information
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> If you are having trouble
getting to the desired buildings, you may meet at the Capitol South Metro, 355
First Street S.E. Please let me know if you are meeting me there. It
is one block to the Longworth Building and two blocks to the Rayburn
Building. I will meet you there at 2:00 for the Tuesday meetings and 10:00
for the Thursday meeting. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Here are the factsheets again.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Since some people had problems opening up the
attachments which were sent out yesterday<BR>-- I am resending the material with
everything in the body of this message. I apologize<BR>for any
inconvenience this may have caused any of you.<BR>David Andrews<BR>Legislative
Agenda of Blind Americans:<BR>Priorities for the 113th Congress, FIRST
Session<BR>The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the nation’s oldest and
largest nationwide<BR>organization of blind people. As the voice of the
nation’s blind, we represent the<BR>collective views of blind people throughout
society. All of our leaders and the<BR>vast majority of our members are
blind, but anyone can participate in our movement.<BR>There are an estimated 1.3
million blind people in the United States, and every year<BR>approximately
75,000 Americans become blind.<BR>The NFB’s three legislative initiatives for
2013 are:<BR>·<BR>The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act<BR>This
legislation phases out Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act,
which<BR>allows employers to pay disabled workers subminimum wages. By
ending this exploitative,<BR>discriminatory practice, disabled Americans will
receive equal protection under the<BR>law to earn at least the federal minimum
wage and reach their full employment potential.<BR>·<BR>The Technology,
Education and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act<BR>Electronic
instructional materials and related technology have replaced
traditional<BR>methods of learning in postsecondary settings. Although it
would be inexpensive<BR>to create e-books, courseware, applications, and other
educational devices and materials<BR>in accessible formats, the overwhelming
majority of these materials are inaccessible<BR>to disabled students. This
bill calls for minimum accessibility standards for instructional<BR>materials,
ending the “separate but equal” approach to learning.<BR>·<BR>Equal Access to
Air Travel for Service-Disabled Veterans (HR 164)<BR>The Space Available Program
allows active-duty military, Red Cross employees, and<BR>retired members of the
armed services to travel on military aircraft if there is<BR>space
available. HR 164 reverses the exclusion of 100 percent service-disabled
veterans<BR>who were discharged before retirement and entitles them to the
program’s privileges.<BR>The real problem of blindness is not the loss of
eyesight; it is the misunderstanding<BR>and lack of information that
exist. Given the proper training and opportunity, blindness<BR>can be
reduced to a physical nuisance. Blind Americans need your help to
achieve<BR>these goals and reach economic security and full integration into
society. Supporting<BR>these measures will benefit more than just the
blind, as promoting our economic welfare<BR>increases the tax base. We
urge Congress to hear our demands for equality and support<BR>these legislative
initiatives.<BR>The Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of
2013<BR>Current labor laws unjustly prohibit workers with disabilities<BR>from
reaching their full socioeconomic potential.<BR>Written in 1938, Section 14(c)
of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) discriminates<BR>against people with
disabilities<BR>by allowing the secretary of labor to grant Special Wage
Certificates to employers,<BR>permitting them to pay workers with disabilities
less than the minimum wage. Despite<BR>enlightened civil rights
legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability,<BR>this
antiquated provision is still in force, with some disabled workers making
only<BR>three cents an hour.<BR>The subminimum wage model actually benefits the
employer, not the worker.<BR>Subminimum wage employers receive taxpayer and
philanthropic dollars because the<BR>public believes they are providing training
and employment for people with disabilities.<BR>The executives use the
substantial proceeds to compensate themselves with six-figure<BR>salaries on the
backs of disabled workers they pay pennies per hour. People who<BR>raise
their own standard of living while taking advantage of those who do not
have<BR>the same rights as every other American are engaging in discrimination,
not charity.<BR>This discrimination persists because of the myths that Section
14(c) is:<BR>Myth 1…a compassionate offering of meaningful work.<BR>
Although the entities that engage in this practice demand the benefits that
come<BR>from being recognized as employers, subminimum wage work is not true
employment.<BR>These so-called employers offer days filled with only repetitive
drudgery for which<BR>workers are compensated with third-world wages, leading
disabled employees toward<BR>learned incapacity and greater dependence on social
programs.<BR>Myth 2…an employment training tool for disabled
workers.<BR>Fewer<BR>than 5 percent of workers with disabilities in subminimum
wage workshops will transition<BR>into integrated competitive work. In
fact data show that they must unlearn the skills<BR>they acquire in a subminimum
wage workshop in order to obtain meaningful employment.<BR>Therefore Section
14(c) is a training tool that perpetuates ongoing underemployment.<BR>Myth 3…a
controversial issue among the disability community.<BR>More than fifty
disability-related organizations and counting support the repeal<BR>of Section
14(c) of the FLSA, and many former subminimum wage employers have
abandoned<BR>the use of the Special Wage Certificate without terminating
anyone. Only entities<BR>profiting from this exploitive practice refuse to
acknowledge that it is discrimination.<BR>The Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act of 2013:<BR>Discontinues the practice of issuing Special Wage
Certificates.<BR> The secretary of labor will no longer issue Special Wage
Certificates to new applicants.<BR>Phases out all remaining Special Wage
Certificates over a three-year period.<BR> Entities currently holding
Special Wage Certificates will begin compensating their<BR>workers with
disabilities at no less than the federal minimum wage, using the
following<BR>schedule:<BR>· private
for-profit entities’ certificates will be revoked after one
year;<BR>· public or governmental
entities’ certificates will be revoked after two<BR>years;
and<BR>· nonprofit entities’
certificates will be revoked after three years.<BR>Repeals Section 14(c) of the
FLSA.<BR>Three years after the law is enacted, the practice of paying disabled
workers subminimum<BR>wages will be officially abolished, and workers with
disabilities will no longer<BR>be excluded from the workforce protection of a
federal minimum wage.<BR>STOP THE DISCRIMINATION.<BR>Create opportunities for
real work at real wages.<BR>Cosponsor the Fair Wages for Workers with
Disabilities Act.<BR>For more information contact:<BR>Anil Lewis, Director of
Advocacy and Policy<BR>National Federation of the Blind<BR>Phone: (410)
659-9314, Extension 2374 email:<BR><A
href="mailto:alewis@nfb.org">alewis@nfb.org</A><BR>The Technology, Education,
and Accessibility<BR>in College and Higher Education Act (TEACH)<BR>Inaccessible
technology in the classroom creates a separate-but-equal<BR>approach to learning
that discriminates against disabled students.<BR>The evolution of technology has
fundamentally changed the education system.<BR>The scope of instructional
materials used to facilitate the teaching and learning<BR>process at
institutions of higher education has expanded. Curricular content
comes<BR>in the form of digital books, PDFs, webpages, etc.; and most of this
content is delivered<BR>through technology such as courseware, library
databases, digital software, and applications.<BR>These advancements have
revolutionized access to information, but the majority of<BR>these materials are
partially or completely inaccessible to students with disabilities.<BR>Barriers
to access for disabled students create a separate-but-equal approach
to<BR>learning.<BR>According to a 2009 Government Accountability Office report,
approximately 10.8 percent<BR>of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions
had some disability. The mass<BR>deployment of inaccessible electronic
instructional materials creates barriers to<BR>learning for millions of disabled
students. When a website is not compatible with<BR>screen-access software,
a blind student is denied access to online course information;<BR>if nondisabled
students are using an inaccessible e-reader, a student who cannot<BR>read print
has to petition the school for an accessible device and thus
potentially<BR>different content. This approach to access is
discriminatory and places unnecessary<BR>barriers in the way of students with
disabilities.<BR>Technology exists to remedy this discrimination, but
postsecondary institutions are<BR>not investing in accessibility.<BR>Innovations
in text-to-speech, refreshable Braille, and other technologies have
created<BR>promise for equal access for disabled students; yet an unacceptable
number of postsecondary<BR>institutions do not make it a priority to purchase
accessible technology. Schools<BR>are buying inaccessible instructional
materials and then separate, accessible items<BR>on an ad-hoc basis for students
with disabilities. Some resort merely to retrofitting<BR>the inaccessible
technology, which sometimes makes accessibility worse. Until
postsecondary<BR>institutions harness their purchasing power, the market for
accessible instructional<BR>materials will remain limited, and disabled students
will continue to be left behind.<BR>Equality in the classroom is a civil
right.<BR>Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with
Disabilities Act prohibit<BR>discrimination on the basis of disability.
The deployment of inaccessible instructional<BR>materials violates these
laws.<BR>Technology, Education, and Accessibility in College and Higher
Education Act:<BR>Develops accessibility guidelines for instructional
materials.<BR> The Access Board will consult experts and stakeholders to
develop technical specifications<BR>for electronic instructional materials and
related information technologies so that<BR>those materials are usable by
individuals with disabilities.<BR>Establishes a minimum accessibility standard
for instructional materials used by<BR>the government and in postsecondary
academic settings.<BR>The Department of Justice will implement the guidelines
developed by the Access Board<BR>as enforceable standards applicable to all
departments and agencies of the federal<BR>government and institutions of higher
education covered in Titles II and III of the<BR>Americans with Disabilities
Act.<BR>Promotes competition while ensuring equality.<BR>The guidelines provide
guidance to manufacturers on how to develop products that<BR>are fully
accessible to disabled users, and the required standards will ensure that<BR>all
colleges, universities, and federal agencies procure and deploy only fully
accessible<BR>instructional materials, ending the separate-but-equal approach to
learning.<BR>PROTECT EQUALITY IN THE CLASSROOM.<BR>Cosponsor the Technology,
Education, and Accessibility<BR> in College and Higher Education Act
(TEACH).<BR>For more information contact:<BR>Lauren McLarney, Government Affairs
Specialist<BR>National Federation of the Blind<BR>Phone: (410) 659-9314,
Extension 2207 email: <A
href="mailto:lmclarney@nfb.org">lmclarney@nfb.org</A><BR>Equal Access to Air
Travel for Service-Disabled Veterans (HR 164)<BR>The Space Available Program
denies 100 percent of<BR>Service-Disabled Veterans the opportunity to
participate.<BR>Discharged service-disabled veterans are not entitled to air
travel privileges to<BR>which other members of the military have access.<BR>The
Space Available Program<BR>allows members of the active military, some family
members, Red Cross employees,<BR>and retired members of the armed services to
travel on military aircraft if space<BR>is available. However, members of
the military who are 100 percent service disabled<BR>do not qualify for this
program because they do not fall into one of those categories.<BR>This
unintentional exclusion denies discharged service-disabled veterans a
privilege<BR>to which they would be entitled had they not been disabled during
service.<BR>Those service members who are disabled during active duty and are
medically discharged<BR>do not have the chance to stay on active duty or fulfill
the twenty years requirement<BR>to become qualified for this program. Had
they not been medically discharged, 100<BR>percent service-disabled veterans are
likely to have served until retirement. These<BR>men and women have earned the
right to space-available travel just as others have<BR>because they have
defended our country.<BR>Equal Access to Air Travel for Service-Disabled
Veterans would:<BR>Provide travel privileges to totally disabled
veterans.<BR>This bill amends Title 10 of the U.S. Code, to permit veterans who
have a service-connected,<BR>permanent disability rated as total to travel on
military aircraft in the same manner<BR>and to the same extent as retired
members of the Armed Forces entitled to such travel.<BR>HONOR OUR
SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS WITH<BR>PRIVILEGES THEY ARE ENTITLED TO.<BR>Cosponsor
HR 164.<BR>To cosponsor the bill, contact:<BR>Mirium Keim, Legislative
Assistant<BR>Office of Congressman Bilirakis (R-FL)<BR>Phone: (202) 225-5755
email:<BR><A
href="mailto:mirium.keim@mail.house.gov">mirium.keim@mail.house.gov</A><BR>For
more information contact:<BR>Jesse Hartle, Government Affairs
Specialist<BR>National Federation of the Blind<BR>Phone: (410) 659-9314,
Extension 2233 email:<BR><A
href="mailto:jhartle@nfb.org">jhartle@nfb.org</A><BR>__________ Information from
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