<html>
<body>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><br>
<b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
</b><br>
<b> <br>
</b><br>
<b>CONTACT:<br>
</b><br>
Fred Wurtzel, Spokesperson<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan<br><br>
(517) 485-0326<br><br>
(517) 256-5575 (Cell)<br><br>
f.wurtzel@att.net<br><br>
<br><br>
<div align="center"><h1><b>National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
Calls for Reversal <br>
of Executive Order on Commission for the Blind</b></h1><br><br>
</div>
<br>
<div align="center"><h2><b>Blind Citizens to Protest Order
Tomorrow</i></b></h2><br><br>
</div>
<font face="Calibri"> <br>
</font><br>
<b>Dearborn Heights, Michigan (February 29, 2012):</b> The National
Federation of the Blind of Michigan, the voice of blind citizens in
Michigan, calls upon Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Senate and
House of Representatives to rescind Executive Order 2012-2 and conduct an
open and transparent review of services to blind citizens. In
response to legitimate concerns about mismanagement, poor performance,
and a high degree of consumer dissatisfaction over the past ten years
that reached a crescendo this year, Governor Snyder issued Executive
Order 2012-2 abolishing the Michigan Commission for the Blind and
transferring its remnants to the Michigan Department of Human Services
(the welfare department) and the Michigan Department of Technology,
Management and Budget.<br><br>
<br><br>
The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan vigorously objects to
Executive Order 2012-2 on several grounds:<br><br>
<ul>
<li>It appears to violate federal laws and regulations regarding
rehabilitation and it jeopardizes nearly 15 million dollars in federal
funds targeted to provide rehabilitation and training to approximately
2,500 blind Michigan citizens.
</ul><br>
<ul>
<li>It threatens the jobs of more than forty blind persons who operate
vending facilities on federal property and along Michigan’s interstate
highways plus an additional sixty employees of these blind
entrepreneurs.
</ul><br>
<ul>
<li>It abolishes the Michigan Commission for the Blind, a consumer-driven
board that sets policy for the agency serving blind persons. Three
of the five persons on the board are required to be blind. This
arrangement assured that blind citizens have oversight of services to the
blind of the state.
</ul><br>
<ul>
<li>Neither the Governor, nor his staff, consulted with the board of the
commission or any other blind person or organization representing blind
persons. No staff of the agency was consulted about the necessity,
viability, or legality of the executive order.
</ul><br>
<ul>
<li>Blind people object to being served by the Department of Human
Services (the welfare department). Blind people want work, not
welfare.
</ul><br>
<br><br>
“Given the Governor’s emphasis on open, transparent, and data-driven
decisions in state government, we are astonished by the
poorly-thought-out executive order and the potential negative
consequences it brings to blind people and the citizens of Michigan,”
said Larry Posont, president of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan.<br><br>
<br><br>
“Where will the forty blind vendors go for work?” Posont continued.
“What will happen to their families? This will force more people
into unemployment and on to welfare rather than creating jobs as the
agency is designed to do.” <br><br>
<br><br>
“We do not have any problem with the legal structure, the staff, or the
funding of the commission,” said Mike Powell, the National Federation of
the Blind of Michigan’s first vice president. “It is the
mismanagement of services and programs, the lack of results, and the lack
of responsiveness to which we object, not the legal structure of the
commission. We want a strong commission board that will make good
public policy, set high goals for job placement, and raise respect for
blind people here in Michigan. We call upon the Governor and the
legislature to consult with the representatives of blind citizens in this
state to craft a better approach than this ill-considered executive
order.”<br><br>
<br><br>
Members and supporters of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan will gather at noon tomorrow in front of the Romney Building in
Lansing to protest the executive order and inform the public about the
negative impact that it will have on blind citizens of Michigan, their
families, and their employees.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<div align="center"><b>###<br>
</b></div>
<br>
<div align="center"> <br>
</div>
<br>
<div align="center"> <br>
</div>
<br>
<b>About the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan<br>
</b><br>
<br><br>
The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is the state’s oldest
and largest organization of blind consumers. Founded in 1941, we
have chapters in most large cities in Michigan and provide advocacy,
information about blindness, scholarships, and many other services that
work toward our goal to change what it means to be blind in
Michigan.</blockquote></body>
</html>