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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Hello Everyone,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Thank you so much for yur advocacy efforts!!
Here I am with another request on behalf of 400,000 people with disabilities who
are being paid sub minimum wages across this country. Please
see the letter below to use as a template to send a letter to the President
regarding fair wages for people with disabilities. Should you decide to
take action, the letter should be sent at your earliest convenience, since it
references some statements that he made in his State of the Union address.
Please ask family and friends to send the letter as well. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Please Note: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>You may want to change the date accordingly and
don't forget to sign the letter.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">February 3,
2014<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">President Barack
Obama<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The White
House<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Washington, DC
20500<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dear Mr.
President:<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In your January
28<SUP>th</SUP> State of the Union Address, and via a conference call with Vice
President Biden and Secretary of Labor Perez on January 29<SUP>th</SUP>, it was
announced that all contractors would be required by executive order to pay their
federally funded workers at least $10.10 an hour under any new contracts. The
National Federation of the Blind, the oldest and largest nationwide organization
of blind Americans, urges you to include workers with disabilities in this
executive order, affirmatively and explicitly. We further urge you to announce
that you will sign the Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act (H.R. 831)
if and when that legislation reaches your desk. With a Republican sponsor and
substantial Democratic co-sponsorship, this nonpartisan piece of legislation
will responsibly phase out the discriminatory practice of paying workers with
disabilities less than the minimum wage. <O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Our respect and
prayers go out to Americans like Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg, who are
willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom and equality we seek to
enjoy as American citizens. We are thankful that Sergeant Remsburg is recovering
from the wounds he suffered in service to this great nation. But we must point
out that his value to our society is not a function of the restoration of his
eyesight and ability to walk, but of the simple fact that he is a human being
with determination, belief in himself, love for the United States, and
aspirations for his future. There are millions of others who actively seek to
serve this nation we love with our unique talents and strengths, whether or not
we can benefit from technology or medical intervention that will mitigate or
eliminate our disabilities. Some of us may be blind in both eyes; others may not
be able to hear; some may be unable to walk; some may have developmental
disabilities that require innovative interventions; and still others may have
other disabilities that require them to perform everyday tasks a little
differently. We seek to have our different characteristics embraced as respected
contributions to our nation’s diversity, not as badges of inferiority that
condemn us to a life of low wages and low expectations. We are no less valuable,
we are no less capable, and we are no less American than any other
citizen.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">We wholeheartedly agree with you when you say,
“The America we want for our kids – a rising America where honest work is
plentiful and communities are strong; where prosperity is widely shared and
opportunity for all lets us go as far as our dreams and toil will take us – none
of it is easy. But if we work together; if we summon what is best in us, the way
Cory summoned what is best in him, with our feet planted firmly in today but our
eyes cast towards tomorrow – I know it’s within our reach.” We believe
that this America includes people with disabilities, and we ask you to
demonstrate that you believe it as well.<O:P></O:P></P>
<P style="TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in"><O:P> </O:P></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sincerely,<BR></SPAN></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>