[nfb-talk] Fw: Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:

Ray Foret Jr rforetjr at att.net
Wed Jan 26 01:40:00 UTC 2011


Sort of makes me wonder why this so-called ambasador was written to in the first place.  "Do not spam this address again"?  I wonder why you bothered in the first place, knowing that was how they felt about our cause.  
Sincerely, 
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now A Very Proud and very happy Mac user!!!

Skype Name:
barefootedray

On Jan 25, 2011, at 7:13 PM, Steven Johnson wrote:

> Kenneth, what are they an ambassador of?  I am guessing another blind
> organization that also has an agenda, but probably not one that works toward
> systemic change.
> 
> Thanks,
> Steve
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Kenneth Chrane
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 11:01 AM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: [nfb-talk] Fw: Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
> 
> This ambassador sure hates the NFB.
> Ken Chrane
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Carol 
> To: kenneth.chrane at verizon.net 
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 11:55 AM
> Subject: Fw: Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Illinois Ambassador 
> To: Carol 
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 9:33 AM
> Subject: Re: Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
> 
> 
> Do not spam this address again.  We do not and will not work with anything
> that is defacto related
> I used to work with EEOC and the American Disabilities Act is filled with
> Constitutional violations.
> If you think it is ok to hinder the growth of one group to cater to another,
> you are mis-guided.
> All you people want is more legislation to enslave the masses with your
> agendas, whether honorable or not.
> There are other ways to help the blind and it sure isn't through more
> legislation and taxation or tax credits.
> YOU   do more harm thank good.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 1/24/2011 9:13 PM, Carol wrote: 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
> 
>  Priorities for the 112th Congress, FIRST 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 112th
> Congress in its first session.  
> 
> 
>  Initiative 1
> 
>  We urge Congress to work with blind Americans to create a Technology Bill
> of Rights for the Blind which mandates that consumer electronics, home
> appliances, kiosks, and electronic office technology and software provide
> user interfaces that are accessible through nonvisual means.  
> 
>  This legislation should:  
> 
>    a.. Mandate that all consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and
> electronic office technology and software 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.  
>    b.. Create a commission within the Department of Commerce 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 and software, or associations representing
> such manufacturers; and 
> 
>  -       experts on universal design, electronic engineering, and related
> fields.  
> 
> 
> 
>  .        Establish within the Department of Justice the authority to
> enforce the regulations promulgated by the commission established by this
> legislation.  
> 
>    a.. Authorize the commission to reexamine and rewrite standards
> periodically as consumer electronic technology continues to evolve.  
> 
>  Initiative 2
> 
>  We urge Congress to work with blind Americans to establish a commission
> within the Department of Education to set uniform national standards for the
> education of blind students in grades K-12.  The Individuals with
> Disabilities Education Act and other existing laws and regulations do not
> currently provide objective standards to measure the educational progress of
> blind students.  
> 
>  This legislation should:  
> 
>  .        Create a commission within the Department of Education, comprised
> to ensure representation of all stakeholders, to set educational standards
> for blind children, and to promulgate regulations.  
> 
> 
>  Initiative 3
> 
>  We urge Congress to increase business opportunities for disabled Americans
> by enacting the Americans with Disabilities Business Opportunity Act.  
> 
>  This legislation should:  
> 
>  .        Authorize tax credits to for-profit businesses that purchase
> goods or services from businesses owned by individuals with disabilities
> (including from businesses operated under the federal Randolph-Sheppard
> program), 
> 
>  .        Amend Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act to include people
> with disabilities as presumptively socially disadvantaged, 
> 
>  .        Change federal procurement law to provide that businesses owned
> by individuals with disabilities (including businesses operated under the
> federal Randolph-Sheppard program) are included on the list of preferred
> small businesses to which subcontracts must be awarded, and 
> 
>  .        Create training and technical assistance programs to prepare
> individuals with disabilities to operate businesses capable of securing
> federal and private contracts.  
> 
> 
>  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.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  A TECHNOLOGY BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE BLIND
> 
> 
> 
>  Purpose:  
> 
>  To mandate that consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, and
> electronic office technology provide user interfaces and software 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, software, and other user
> interfaces that are inaccessible to people 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 easily
> discerned and readily identified.  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 or software
> such as copiers, fax machines, and basic word processing programs, that
> person's opportunity to join the workforce or maintain an existing job is in
> great jeopardy.  
> 
>  Many popular, cost-effective mechanisms are available for manufacturers to
> create interfaces usable through nonvisual means.  For example,
> text-to-speech technology is inexpensive and more prevalent 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.  Apple has incorporated VoiceOver (a
> text-to-speech function) into the touch-screen iPhone, making it the only
> fully accessible wireless handset on the market.  The key is to build in
> nonvisual access at the design stage.  Despite these available accessibility
> solutions, the majority of manufacturers have continued to design interfaces
> that do not include nonvisual means of use.  This trend of inaccessibility
> will continue to grow as technology becomes more advanced and accessibility
> solutions are ignored.  
> 
> 
>  Need for Legislation:  
> 
>  No enforceable mandates currently exist for manufacturers of consumer
> electronics, home appliances, kiosks, or electronic office technology to
> make their products accessible to blind consumers.  There are also no
> accessibility standards to provide guidance to manufacturers on how to avoid
> creating barriers to access for the blind.  
> 
>  Congress should enact a Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind that:  
> 
>    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.  
>  The legislation should not mandate a single, one-size-fits-all solution
> for all consumer electronics, home appliances, kiosks, or electronic office
> technology.  Rather it should mandate 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.  
>    b.. Creates a commission within the Department of Commerce 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 and software, or associations representing
> such manufacturers; and 
> 
>  -       experts on universal design, electronic engineering, and related
> fields.  
> 
>    a.. Establishes within the Department of Justice the authority to
> enforce the regulations promulgated by the commission established by this
> legislation.  
>    b.. Authorizes the commission to reexamine and rewrite standards
> periodically as consumer electronic technology continues to evolve.  
> 
>  Requested Action:  
> 
>  Please support blind Americans by sponsoring the Technology Bill of Rights
> for the Blind to ensure that blind people can fully participate in all
> aspects of 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
> 
>  E-mail: lmclarney at nfb.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  ENSURING EQUAL EDUCATION FOR BLIND CHILDREN: 
> 
>  SETTING STANDARDS THAT PROMOTE EXCELLENCE
> 
> 
>  Purpose:  
> 
>  To establish a commission within the Department of Education to set
> uniform national standards for the education of blind students in grades
> K-12.  
> 
> 
>  Background:  
> 
>  Blind students have been integrated into America's public schools since
> the 1960s, but educators have never made an attempt to quantify or measure
> the quality of their education consistently and effectively.  Although
> school districts are required by law to provide a "free, appropriate public
> education" to all students with disabilities, current regulations and
> practices only establish what services and accommodations blind students
> will receive individually and do not measure or attempt to measure the
> effectiveness of these services and accommodations.  All too often this
> means that blind students are burdened with low expectations and inferior
> educational services.  
> 
>  To the extent that a blind child's performance is poor, too many educators
> incorrectly believe that this occurs because of the child's incapacity due
> to blindness rather than because of the inadequacy of the services and
> accommodations provided.  The real problem, however, is what former
> President George W. Bush called "the soft bigotry of low expectations."  The
> low expectations of educators for blind children become self-fulfilling
> prophecies when blind students receive inadequate Braille instruction; are
> not provided textbooks and other educational materials in specialized
> formats on time; or are not given adequate instruction in the skills of
> blindness including the use of access technology.  Materials supporting the
> Common Core State Standards recently developed by the National Governors
> Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School
> Officers state that students with disabilities "must be challenged to excel
> within the general curriculum and be prepared for success in their
> post-school lives, including college and/or careers" and must receive
> appropriate accommodations to achieve academic excellence.  In order for
> this goal to become a reality, however, uniform national standards are
> needed to ensure that blind students have the skills they need to perform at
> age- and grade-appropriate levels throughout their educations.  Such
> standards will finally put an end to the vicious circle of low expectations
> and inadequate services that has condemned far too many blind children to
> lives of frustration, illiteracy, and ultimately poverty.  
> 
> 
>  Existing Law: 
> 
>  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides that every
> student with a disability must have an Individualized Education Program
> (IEP), agreed upon by a team that includes the student's parents, teachers,
> and school administrators.  While the IEP sets out what services and
> accommodations a student will receive and sets goals for the individual
> student's progress, the effectiveness of the IEP itself is not measured
> against objective benchmarks in order to determine whether the blindness
> skills being taught and services being provided are allowing the student to
> perform to the same standards as other students of the same age, grade
> level, or level of intellectual functioning.  Procedures exist for a child's
> parents to object if they believe that the IEP is not being followed or
> needs to be changed, but the process is onerous and puts the burden of proof
> on the parents to show that the child is not receiving an adequate
> education, rather than on school administrators to show that the IEP is
> producing good results.  Uniform standards outlining the services and
> accommodations that must be made available to all blind children, as well as
> the specific blindness skills the students need to acquire in order to
> succeed, would solve this problem by establishing benchmarks against which
> each child's performance would be measured, providing a clear and unbiased
> assessment of whether the child is being educated effectively.  
> 
> 
>  Need for Legislation: 
> 
>  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other existing laws
> and regulations do not currently provide objective standards to measure the
> effectiveness of the education of blind students against accepted standards
> like the Common Core State Standards.  Such standards must be set by a
> regulatory body that consists of and receives input from all stakeholders,
> including educators, blind Americans, and parents of blind children.
> Congress should enact legislation that creates a commission within the
> Department of Education, to ensure representation of all stakeholders in
> order to set educational standards for blind children and to promulgate
> regulations providing for the enforcement of the standards throughout the
> United States.  Only through the establishment of objective standards by
> such an independent body will blind children in America finally be freed
> from the chains of inadequate instruction, lackluster educational support,
> and low expectations.  
> 
> 
>  Requested Action: 
> 
>  Please support blind Americans by sponsoring legislation to establish a
> commission within the Department of Education to set standards for the
> education of all blind children in America.  
> 
> 
> 
>  Contact Information:
> 
>  Jesse Hartle
> 
>  Government Programs Specialist
> 
>  NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> 
>  Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2233
> 
>  E-mail: jhartle at nfb.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY ACT
> 
> 
> 
>  Purpose:  
> 
>  To unleash the entrepreneurial capacity of Americans with disabilities in
> order to reduce the staggering unemployment rate among these individuals and
> welcome them into the mainstream of American business.  
> 
> 
>  Background:  
> 
>  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than two-thirds of
> Americans with disabilities are unemployed or vastly under-employed.  Strong
> and innovative initiatives are necessary to remedy this problem and put
> Americans with disabilities to work.  To a substantial degree America's
> economic success is tied to the freedom to engage in entrepreneurial
> activity and create one's own wealth.  It has long been the policy of the
> United States to promote the economic well-being of traditionally
> disadvantaged groups by creating a variety of business incentive programs
> that allow these groups to participate in the mainstream of the nation's
> economy.  These programs have not, however, been extended to Americans with
> disabilities.  The Americans with Disabilities Business Opportunity Act
> (ADBOA) would greatly expand the ability of Americans with disabilities to
> secure entrepreneurial opportunities by:  
> 
>  .        Authorizing tax credits to for-profit businesses that purchase
> goods or services from businesses owned by individuals with disabilities
> (including from businesses operated under the federal Randolph-Sheppard
> program); 
> 
>  .        Amending Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act to include people
> with disabilities as presumptively socially disadvantaged; 
> 
>  .        Changing federal procurement law to provide that businesses owned
> by individuals with disabilities (including businesses operated under the
> federal Randolph-Sheppard program) are included on the list of preferred
> small businesses to which subcontracts must be awarded; and 
> 
>  .        Creating training and technical assistance programs to prepare
> individuals with disabilities to operate businesses capable of securing
> federal and private contracts. 
> 
> 
>  Need for Legislation:  
> 
>  Each of the four components of the ADBOA would enhance the ability of
> businesses operated by Americans with disabilities to be fully integrated
> into the mainstream of the American economy.  Together these components
> would reduce the unemployment rate among Americans with disabilities and
> make them fully productive members of society.  
> 
>  1.    Tax Credits:  One effective method of encouraging and enticing
> business entities to subcontract with, or purchase goods and services from,
> businesses owned or operated by Americans with disabilities is to offer such
> entities tax credits.  These tax credits would allow traditional businesses
> to realize substantial tax savings and also promote the goal of integrating
> businesses owned by people with disabilities into the economic mainstream.  
> 
>  2.    Amendment of Section 8(a):  Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act
> is a powerful program allowing businesses owned by racial, cultural, and
> ethnic minorities or women to secure federal contracts.  Anyone seeking
> Section 8(a) certification must prove that he/she is socially and
> economically disadvantaged.  Individuals who are from a racial, cultural, or
> ethnic minority or women are presumed to be socially disadvantaged. It is
> currently possible for individuals with disabilities to secure 8(a)
> certification, but such individuals must prove that they are socially
> disadvantaged.  It is onerous to establish such a disadvantage under current
> laws and regulations.  Placing people with disabilities on the presumptive
> list of those who are socially disadvantaged would create a much easier path
> to 8(a) certification for such individuals and therefore to the opportunity
> to secure federal contracts.  
> 
>  3.    Changes to Federal Procurement Practices:  Under current law
> business entities attempting to secure large federal contracts must
> guarantee that they will subcontract a portion of the work to small
> businesses that are owned by traditionally disadvantaged populations.
> Businesses owned by individuals with disabilities are currently not on the
> list of disadvantaged populations.  ADBOA will permit for-profit business
> entities attempting to secure large federal contracts to meet procurement
> requirements by subcontracting with businesses owned by individuals with
> disabilities.  
> 
>  4.    Establishment of Technical Assistance and Training Programs:
> Through the award of federal grants, ADBOA would establish technical
> assistance and training programs allowing business owners with disabilities
> to acquire the technical expertise to secure federal contracts and otherwise
> maximize entrepreneurial opportunities.  The purpose for these federal
> grants will be to increase substantially the number of individuals with
> disabilities capable of operating successful businesses.  The emphasis in
> federal disability policy in the past has not been on providing people with
> disabilities the tools and training necessary to support themselves.  Rather
> many governmental programs for the disabled have been based on a welfare
> model.  ADBOA would emphasize economic independence for individuals with
> disabilities by training them to run their own businesses.  ADBOA grants
> would also allow entities to create tools to assist individuals with
> disabilities in running a successful business.  
> 
> 
>  Requested Action:  
> 
>  Please support blind Americans by sponsoring the Americans with
> Disabilities Business Opportunity Act, legislation to increase business
> opportunities for disabled Americans.  
> 
> 
> 
>  Contact Information:
> 
>  Jesse Hartle
> 
>  Government Programs Specialist
> 
>  NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
> 
>  Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2233
> 
>  E-mail: jhartle at nfb.org
> 
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