[NABS-L] Urgent: Legislative Alert Regarding Accessibility Features in Public Buildings

[Kaleigh Brendle]

NABS,

Please see the below message from John Pare. The Department of Energy is
trying to put a new rule into effect that would take away certain
accessibility requirements for new construction of buildings for programs
or activities getting federal assistance. This covers accessible features
such as Braille signs and auditory announcements in elevators. It is slated
to take effect on July 15th, but we have a few more days to try and stop
it. Please follow John Pare’s instructions to leave a comment on this rule,
all comments need to be in by June 16th.

Best,
Kaleigh

___

Dear Federation Family:

 On May 16, 2025, the United States Department of Energy released a direct
final rule that “rescinds certain new construction requirements related to
disability nondiscrimination in federally assisted programs or activities.”
A direct final rule is slightly different from the typical rulemaking
process, it’s a kind of fast-track effort to put a new rule in place unless
there are “significant adverse comments” which oppose the rule by June 16,
2025.



As you may expect, we are adamantly opposed to any attempt to roll back any
accessibility requirements in the construction of buildings for federally
assisted programs or activities. Just last week, President Riccobono
submitted the official comments of the National Federation of the Blind to
the Department of Energy
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements/letter-united-states-department-energy-regarding>
opposing the rescinding of the requirements. These comments are posted on
the policy statements page of our website, and we encourage you to read
them. But, more important than that, we urge you to submit your own
comments to the Department of Energy to ensure they understand just how
important accessibility is to us. Tell them how important Braille signage
is in buildings, or how vital nonvisually accessible information is in an
elevator.



When writing your comments, you might say something like:

“My name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, STATE]. I urge you to withdraw the
direct final rule. As a blind person myself, I know the importance of
accessible public buildings and architecture. Without accessible features
such as Braille signage on doors and Braille and audio announcements in
elevators, blind people are unable to independently navigate these
facilities. Again, I urge you to withdraw the direct final rule.”



You can submit your comments online through the Federal Register page at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/05/16/2025-08535/rescinding-new-construction-requirements-related-to-nondiscrimination-in-federally-assisted-programs#open-comment



The link will take you directly to the submission page where you will be
able to type in your comment, selecting the option to confirm that you are
an individual, and verifying that you understand your comments may be
publicly viewed on the website. Remember, time is of the essence because
the comment submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Monday, June 16,
2025. We apologize that we did not get this information to you sooner, but
there is still time to leave your comment.



Thank you for all that you do,

John



John Paré

Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
<https://www.google.com/maps/search/200+East+Wells+Street,+Baltimore,+MD+21230?entry=gmail&source=g>

410-659-9314, extension 2218 | *jpare at nfb.org <jpare at nfb.org>*



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