[Nfbmo] Sample Letters

[Gary Wunder]

Last month I was assigned a task by the Columbia chapter to write a sample letter on each piece of federal legislation we support. While the letters you write may be much more specific or shorter and more general, these at least may serve to outline our issues and hopefully will encourage some of us who have not written to do so. I will be glad to write other letters from different points of view if they will be helpful. I share them here with the hope that they will stimulate some activity as a way of following up on our hard work and expense at the Washington Seminar.

Warmly,

Gary

P.S. I am attaching these as word files and also putting them after this message.

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Dear Senator McCaskill:

 

I am blind.  One of the most liberating moments for me was when I learned to travel with a long white cane.  For the first time in my life I could go where I wanted without holding on to the arm of a family member.  My cane tells me about steps, curbs and obstacles in my path, and my ears tell me through listening to the traffic about the color of traffic lights and when it is safe to cross the street.

 

Something now threatens my travel.  Car companies are developing and marketing cars which can't be heard.  These are hybrid and electric automobiles.  I need your help in seeing that cars make enough sound for me and other travelers on foot to be safe.  Please support Senate Bill 841 and House Bill 734.  These bills call on the Department of Transportation to do a study to determine what level of sound is needed to keep pedestrians safe, and then, using that data, to implement regulations requiring that all vehicles comply.

 

Just as you count on me to be independent and productive, I count on you to see this remains a possibility.  I need your support, your questions, or the reasons you cannot support, but I trust that you will see the reasonableness of addressing this problem and join with us in bringing about a solution.





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Dear Rep.  Skelton:

 

I am a 50 year-old woman who, from the time I was 18, have been doing my cooking, my dishes, and my laundry.  I'm the Mother of four and never have my children gone without because of my blindness.

 

I write to you because today it is harder than ever for me to find stoves, ovens, washers and dryers I can use.  Where once the machines I bought had knobs and buttons I could mark in Braille or with dots for normal settings, now these devices have a computer and this computer has a screen I must see to know my wash cycle, my oven temperature, or how long the timer is set.

 

There is a bill before you,  H.R.  4533  which acknowledges this problem and orders the Federal Government to study the different ways to make these devices accessible.  The results of that study will be used to create standards ensuring that people like me can remain independent in our own homes rather than being placed in nursing homes when there aren't devices we can use to do the things necessary to remain independent.  Part of the study and regulations to come from it will focus on equipment used in the workplace since accessibility is also necessary for blind employees to compete with their sighted neighbors.

 

Please support  H.R.  4533  and blind people can remain independent at home and on the job.

 

Sincerely,

 

 



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Dear Rep.  Luetkemeyer:

 

I want to thank you for your cosponsorship of HR 734, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.  Newer quieter cars pose a real danger to pedestrians, including those of us who are blind and travel with a dog or a cane.  Your support for a study and a minimal sound standard just as we now have a maximum noise standard is very much appreciated.

 

Cordially,

 


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