[Nfbmt] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Letter of Support for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Letter 
of Support for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Date: 	Fri, 30 May 2014 22:20:46 -0500
From: 	David Andrews via Nfbnet-members-list 
<nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Reply-To: 	David Andrews <dandrews at visi.com>
To: 	nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org



Dear Fellow Federationists:

The letter below summarizes our position on the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. No
action is needed at this time. We will keep you updated on next steps.

John

# # #

May 30, 2014

The Honorable Tom Harkin                          The Honorable Lamar Alexander
731 Hart Senate Office
Building                             455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC
20510                                           Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable John
Kline                                        The Honorable George Miller
2439 Rayburn House Office
Building                     2205 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC
20515                                           Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator Harkin, Senator Alexander,
Congressman Kline, and Congressman Miller:

The National Federation of the Blind, the oldest
and largest organization of blind people in the
United States, supports the passage of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Title
IV of this legislation, the Rehabilitation Act,
is the product of serious and substantive
discussions and negotiations with the blind and
other Americans with disabilities. It is an
important first step toward eliminating wage
discrimination against people with disabilities,
and it focuses the rehabilitation system on
providing quality rehabilitation services that
empower people with all disabilities to obtain
competitive integrated employment.

In particular, we believe that the compromise
language in Section 511, while not perfect, will
help reduce the number of disabled youth being
tracked into sheltered subminimum wage
employment. We are also pleased that the
Rehabilitation Services Administration will
remain within the Department of Education and
that programs for the older blind will also
continue to be handled by this department. The
critical importance of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration is properly maintained
because its director will continue to be
appointed by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate.

The National Federation of the Blind is
disappointed in the shifting of the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research to the Department of Health and Human
Services. We also disagree with the reduction in
membership of the National Council on Disability,
a significant downgrade of this important voice
on disability policy. We are also disappointed
with the lowering of standards for the
qualifications of rehabilitation counselors.

As a whole, however, the National Federation of
the Blind supports this legislation and believes
that it represents a significant improvement in
policies designed to create and enhance
employment opportunities for American workers
with disabilities. We thank each of you for your
hard work in crafting this important bill and
look forward to working with you to see it become law.

Sincerely,

John G. Paré Jr.
Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy
National Federation of the Blind



         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org


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