[nfb-talk] Legislation for 111th Congress Section 2:

[Kenneth Chrane]

Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:

Priorities for the 111th Congress, SECOND Session





            The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest and 
largest organization of blind people in the United States.  As the Voice of 
the Nation's Blind, we represent the collective views of blind people 
throughout society.  All of our leaders and the vast majority of our members 
are blind, but anyone can participate in our movement.  There are an 
estimated 1.3 million blind people in the United States, and every year 
approximately 75,000 Americans become blind.  The social and economic 
consequences of blindness affect not only blind people, but also our 
families, our friends, and our coworkers.



            Three legislative initiatives demand the immediate attention of 
the 111th Congress in its second session:

1.      We urge Congress to ensure the safety of blind and other pedestrians 
by passing the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.  This legislation would 
require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to:

·        begin a study within ninety days of its enactment to determine the 
most practical means of assuring that blind and other pedestrians receive 
essentially similar information to that which they now receive from sound 
emitted by internal combustion engines;

·        determine the minimum amount of sound necessary to offer sufficient 
information for blind pedestrians to make safe travel judgments, based on 
appropriate scientific research and consultation with blind Americans and 
other affected groups;

·        within two years of beginning the study, promulgate a motor vehicle 
safety standard to address the needs of blind and other pedestrians by 
requiring either a minimum level of sound or an equally effective means of 
providing the same information as is available from hearing internal 
combustion engines; and

·        apply the standard to all motor vehicles manufactured or sold in 
the United States beginning no later than two years after the date it is 
promulgated.





2.      We urge Congress to work with blind Americans to create a Technology 
Bill of Rights for the Blind that mandates that consumer electronics, home 
appliances, kiosks, and electronic office technology provide user interfaces 
that are accessible through nonvisual means.  This legislation should:



·        mandate that all consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and 
electronic office technology be designed so that blind people can access the 
same functions as sighted people through nonvisual means and with 
substantially equivalent ease of use;



·        create a commission comprised of essential stakeholders to 
establish standards for nonvisual accessibility of electronic devices 
intended for use in the home or office;



·        endow the Department of Justice with the authority to enforce the 
regulations promulgated by the commission established by this legislation; 
and



·        authorize the commission to reexamine and rewrite standards 
periodically as consumer electronic technology continues to evolve.



3.      We urge Congress to promote and facilitate the transition by blind 
Americans from recipients of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits 
to income-earning, tax-paying, productive members of the American workforce 
by enacting legislation to:



·        replace the monthly earnings penalty with a graduated three-for-one 
phase-out (i.e., a $1 reduction in benefits for each $3 earned above the 
limit);



·        replace the monthly earnings test with an annualized earnings test 
in an amount equal to twelve times the Substantial Gainful Activity amount; 
and



·        establish an impairment-related work expense deduction for blind 
Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries equal to the amount 
applicable for this deduction when determining an appropriate income subsidy 
under Medicare Part D or 16.3 percent of earnings, whichever is greater.







            For more information about these priorities, please consult the 
attached fact sheets.



            Blind Americans need your help to achieve our goals of economic 
security, increased opportunity, and full integration into American society 
on a basis of equality.  Enactment of these legislative proposals will 
represent important steps toward reaching these goals.  We need the help and 
support of each member of Congress.  Our success benefits not only us, but 
the whole of America as well.  In this time of national economic insecurity, 
these measures will contribute to increasing the tax base and encouraging 
the purchase of consumer goods.



ENHANCING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY:

ENSURING THE BLIND CAN CONTINUE

TO TRAVEL SAFELY AND INDEPENDENTLY





Purpose:  To enact the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, which will 
establish a motor vehicle safety standard to alert blind and other 
pedestrians of the presence of silent hybrid and electric vehicles.





Background:  Until recently independent travel for the blind has been a 
relatively simple matter once a blind person has been trained in travel 
techniques and has learned to use a white cane or to travel with a guide 
dog.  Blind people listen to the sound of automobile engines to determine 
the direction, speed, and pattern of traffic.  Sounds from traffic tell 
blind pedestrians how many vehicles are near them and how fast they are 
moving; whether the vehicles are accelerating or decelerating; and whether 
the vehicles are traveling toward, away from, or parallel to them.  With all 
of this information blind people can accurately determine when it is safe to 
advance into an intersection or across a driveway or parking lot.  The 
information obtained from listening to traffic sounds allows blind people to 
travel with complete confidence and without assistance.  Studies have shown 
that sighted pedestrians also use auditory information when traveling.



Over the past few years, however, vehicles that are completely silent in 
certain modes of operation have come on the market, and many more silent 
vehicles are expected in the near future.  These vehicles are designed to 
have many benefits, including improved fuel efficiency and reduced 
emissions, but they do not need to be silent in order to achieve these 
intended benefits.  An unintended consequence of these vehicles as they are 
currently designed is that they endanger the safety, not only of blind 
people, but also of small children, seniors, cyclists, and runners.





Need for Congressional Action:  For several years the National Federation of 
the Blind has been concerned about the proliferation of silent vehicles. 
These concerns were validated by a recent report from the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, which concluded that at low speeds hybrid and 
electric vehicles are twice as likely to be involved in accidents with 
pedestrians as vehicles with internal combustion engines.  Recently 
automobile manufacturers have acknowledged the dangers posed to blind 
pedestrians by silent-vehicle technology and have begun to work with the 
National Federation of the Blind to craft solutions.  While participation 
from some manufacturers is an important first step, many others continue to 
take a wait-and-see approach on this important issue.  Congress must 
therefore direct the Department of Transportation to take action.  It is 
crucial that this problem be addressed before the inevitable avalanche of 
tragedies involving blind people (including newly blinded veterans), small 
children, seniors, cyclists, and runners shocks the nation.





Proposed Legislation:  The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 734 and 
S. 841) was introduced by Congressmen Towns and Stearns in the House and by 
Senators Kerry and Specter in the Senate.  This legislation directs the 
secretary of transportation to conduct a study and establish a motor vehicle 
safety standard that provides a means of alerting blind and other 
pedestrians of motor vehicle operation based on appropriate scientific 
research and consultation with blind Americans and other affected groups. 
This national motor vehicle safety standard must have the following 
characteristics:

  a.. In all phases of operation (including times when the vehicle is at a 
full stop), pedestrians must be able to identify vehicles by nonvisual 
means.
  b.. The motor vehicle safety standard must also provide pedestrians with 
the range of information that is currently provided by combustion engines, 
including whether the vehicle is idling, maintaining a constant speed, 
accelerating, or decelerating.
The standard need not prescribe the apparatus, technology, or method to be 
used by vehicle manufacturers to achieve the required safety standard.  This 
approach will encourage manufacturers to use innovative and cost-effective 
techniques to achieve the motor vehicle safety standard.

Automobiles that operate in complete silence endanger the safety of all of 
us; silent operation should be viewed as a design flaw comparable to the 
lack of seat belts or air bags, and therefore this safety issue must be 
addressed.





Requested Action:  Please support blind Americans by cosponsoring the 
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act to authorize the U.S. Department of 
Transportation to establish and promulgate regulations specifying a motor 
vehicle safety standard for all new automobiles sold in the United States. 
In the House of Representatives members can be added by contacting Emily 
Khoury in Congressman Towns's office, or James Thomas in Congressman Stearns's 
office.  In the Senate members can be added as cosponsors by contacting Doug 
Frost in Senator Kerry's office.





Contact Information:

Jesse Hartle

Government Programs Specialist

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2233

Email:  jhartle at nfb.org



A TECHNOLOGY BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE BLIND





Purpose:  To mandate that consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and 
electronic office technology provide user interfaces that are accessible 
through nonvisual means.





Background:  In recent years rapid advances in microchip and digital 
technology have led to increasingly complex user interfaces for everyday 
products such as consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and 
electronic office technology.  Many new devices in these categories require 
interaction with visual displays, on-screen menus, touch screens, and other 
user interfaces that are inaccessible to individuals who are blind or have 
low vision.  Settings on the stove, dishwasher, or home entertainment system 
are no longer controlled by knobs, switches, and buttons that can be readily 
identified and whose settings can be easily discerned.  Inaccessibility of 
these devices is a major barrier to a blind person's independence and 
productivity.  If a blind person cannot operate the interfaces of basic 
office equipment such as copiers and fax machines, this is a potential 
threat to that person's opportunity to join the workforce or to maintain an 
existing job.



Many popular nonvisual mechanisms are available for manufacturers to create 
interfaces accessible to everyone.  For example, text-to-speech technology 
is inexpensive and more ubiquitous than it has ever been-it is used in 
everything from automated telephone systems to the weather forecasting 
service broadcast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
Indeed, a few manufacturers have incorporated this technology into their 
products to create talking menus or to articulate what is on the display 
screen, but many manufacturers have continued to design interfaces that do 
not include any nonvisual means of use, rendering the devices inaccessible 
to blind people.





Need for Legislation:  Currently no enforceable mandates exist for 
manufacturers of consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and 
electronic office technology to make their products accessible to all 
consumers.  There are also no accessibility standards to provide guidance to 
manufacturers on how to avoid creating barriers to access by the blind.



Congress should therefore enact a Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind 
which:

  a.. establishes that manufacturers must create accessible user interfaces 
for their products,
  b.. provides a means for enforcement, and
  c.. establishes standards that will provide meaningful benchmarks that 
manufacturers can use to make their products accessible.


This legislation does not mandate a single, one-size-fits-all solution for 
all consumer technology, home appliances, kiosks, or electronic office 
technology.  Rather it mandates regulations setting meaningful accessibility 
standards that allow manufacturers to select from a menu of potential 
solutions or create new ones.  This will not only give manufacturers the 
freedom and flexibility they desire, but will also encourage innovations 
that make consumer technology more usable for everyone.



Proposed Legislation:  Congress should enact a Technology Bill of Rights for 
the Blind that:



  a.. Mandates that all consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and 
electronic office technology be designed so that blind people are able to 
access the same functions as sighted people by nonvisual means and with 
substantially equivalent ease of use.


  a.. Creates a commission to establish standards for nonvisual 
accessibility of electronic devices intended for use in the home or office. 
Such a commission should represent all stakeholders, including:
-          organizations of the blind;

-          manufacturers of consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, 
and electronic office technology, or associations representing such 
manufacturers; and

-          experts on universal design, electronic engineering, and related 
fields.



  a.. Endows the Department of Justice with the authority to enforce the 
regulations promulgated by the commission established by this legislation.


  a.. Authorizes the commission to reexamine and rewrite standards 
periodically as consumer electronic technology continues to evolve.




Requested Action:  Please support blind Americans and cosponsor a Technology 
Bill of Rights for the Blind to ensure that blind people can fully 
participate in all aspects of American society.  Increased access leads to 
increased independence, increased employment, and increased tax revenue.





Contact Information:

Lauren McLarney

Government Programs Specialist

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2207

Email:  lmclarney at nfb.org



REMOVING THE EARNINGS PENALTY:

A COMMON SENSE WORK INCENTIVE

FOR BLIND SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES





Purpose:  To promote and facilitate the transition by blind Americans from 
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries to income-earning, 
taxpaying, productive members of the American workforce.



Background:  The unemployment rate for working-age blind people is over 70 
percent.  Part of the reason for this disproportionately high statistic is 
the myths and misconceptions about the true capacities of blind people. 
These erroneous perceptions are manifested when employers refuse to hire the 
blind.  Low societal expectations result in low representation of the blind 
in the workforce.

In addition, governmental programs intended to provide economic security to 
blind workers during periods of unemployment, especially the SSDI program, 
have had the unintended consequence of creating an incentive for blind 
people to remain unemployed or underemployed, despite their desire to work.

Despite the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind, blindness still 
has profound social and economic consequences.  Governmental programs should 
encourage blind people to reach their full employment potential; they should 
not encourage economic dependence.



Existing Law:  Title II of the Social Security Act provides that disability 
benefits paid to blind beneficiaries are eliminated if the beneficiary 
exceeds a monthly earnings limit.  This earnings limit is in effect a 
penalty imposed on blind Americans when they work.  This penalty imposed by 
the SSDI program means that, if a blind person earns just $1 over $1,640 
(the monthly limit in 2010 following a Trial Work Period), all benefits are 
lost.

Section 216(i)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act defines blindness as a 
disability based on objective measurement of acuity and visual field, as 
opposed to the subjective criterion of inability to perform Substantial 
Gainful Activity (SGA).  For blind people, doing work valued at the SGA 
earnings limit terminates benefits but does not terminate disability.  Only 
blind people not working or those with work earnings below an annually 
adjusted statutory earnings limit receive benefits.



Need for Legislation:  When a blind person enters the workforce, there is no 
guarantee that wages earned will replace SSDI benefits after taxes are paid 
and work expenses are deducted.  For example, Jane worked as a customer 
service representative with an annual income of $35,000 until she became 
blind from diabetic retinopathy.  Jane meets the criteria for SSDI benefits, 
which provide income of $1,060 a month (or $12,720 a year) tax-free while 
she is not working.  Jane wants additional income to meet her financial 
needs.  After an adjustment period and blindness skills training, she finds 
employment as a part-time representative making $10 an hour for thirty-five 
hours a week.  Jane grosses $350 a week for an average of $1,517 a month. 
Using a conservative 25 percent withholding tax, Jane nets $1,137.50 from 
her work, combined with her $1,060 disability benefit, for a net total of

$2,197.50 a month.  If Jane should have the opportunity to work full time 
(forty hours), her weekly salary would go up to $400 a week for a monthly 
average of $1,733.  This amount is over the 2010 earnings limit, so Jane 
loses all of her disability benefits.  Using the same 25 percent tax level, 
Jane nets only $1,300 a month-working an extra five hours a week has cost 
Jane $897.50 net income (over $10,500 a year).  This example illustrates the 
work disincentive contained in current law.

A gradual reduction of $1 in benefits for every $3 earned over the earnings 
limit would remove the earnings penalty and provide a financial incentive to 
work.  The benefit amount paid to an individual will gradually decrease, 
while the individual's contribution to the Social Security trust fund 
increases over time.  Under this approach, as Jane earns more, she pays more 
into the trust fund, and her dependence on benefits decreases.

Monthly earnings evaluations are unnecessarily complicated for both the 
beneficiaries and the Social Security Administration.  Since the medical 
prognosis for blind people rarely changes and because blindness is 
objectively measurable, blind people should be subject to an annual earnings 
test with the limit equal to twelve times the applicable monthly SGA amount.

Under current law blind workers frequently pay for items and services 
related to their blindness that are necessary for them to work, and they are 
permitted to subtract these Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) from 
monthly earnings when determining monthly income.  Properly crediting IRWE 
poses a serious challenge to the SSDI program and creates a lack of 
predictability for the blind person trying to determine whether benefits 
will be available.  To address both issues, Congress should permit SSDI 
recipients to claim the same amount used when determining an income subsidy 
under the Medicare prescription drug program, currently 16.3 percent of 
earnings.



Proposed Legislation:  Congress should enact legislation to:

·        provide that earnings of blind SSDI beneficiaries in excess of the 
annual earnings limit result in a gradual benefit reduction of $1 for each 
$3 earned over the limit;

·        establish an annual earnings test for blind SSDI beneficiaries; and

·        establish one standard IRWE deduction for blind SSDI beneficiaries 
equal to the amount presently applicable for this deduction when determining 
an appropriate income subsidy under the Medicare prescription drug program 
or 16.3 percent of earnings, whichever is greater.



Requested Action:  For the House, please cosponsor the Blind Persons Return 
to Work Act (H.R. 886) by contacting Michaeleen Crowell in Rep. John Lewis's 
office, and provide a common sense work incentive for blind Social Security 
beneficiaries.  For the Senate please consider introducing companion 
legislation.





Contact Information:

Lauren McLarney

Government Programs Specialist

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2207

Email:  lmclarney at nfb.org