[Nyagdu] Fw: [nabop] 2009 Washington Seminar Materials

[Margo and Elmo]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Andrews" <dandrews at visi.com>
To: <david.andrews at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 2:39 PM
Subject: [nabop] 2009 Washington Seminar Materials





Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans:
Priorities for the 111th 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 present 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 111th Congress in its first session:
1.     We urge Congress to ensure the safety of
blind and other pedestrians by passing the
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.  This
legislation would require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to:
·       Begin a study within ninety days of its
enactment to determine the most practical means
of assuring that blind and other pedestrians
receive essentially similar information to what
they now receive from sound emitted by internal combustion engines;
·       Determine the minimum amount of sound
necessary to offer sufficient information for
blind pedestrians to make safe travel judgments
based on appropriate scientific research and
consultation with blind Americans and other affected groups;
·       Within two years of beginning the study,
promulgate a motor vehicle safety standard to
address the needs of blind and other pedestrians
by requiring either a minimum level of sound or
an equally effective means of providing the same
information as is available from hearing internal combustion engines; and
·       Apply the standard to all motor vehicles
manufactured or sold in the United States
beginning no later than two years after the date it is promulgated.


2.     We urge Congress to work with blind
Americans to create a Technology Bill of Rights
for the Blind that mandates consumer electronics,
home appliances, and office equipment to provide
user interfaces that are accessible through
nonvisual means.  This legislation should:

·       Mandate that all consumer electronics,
home appliances, and office equipment be designed
so that blind people can access the same
functions as sighted people through nonvisual
means and with substantially equivalent ease of use;

·       Create a commission comprised of
essential stakeholders to establish standards for
nonvisual accessibility of electronic devices
intended for use in the home or office;
·       Endow the commission with enforcement
powers or locate it within a government agency having such powers; and
·       Authorize it to reexamine and rewrite
standards to keep pace with the evolution of consumer electronic technology.

3.     We urge Congress to promote and facilitate
the transition by blind Americans from recipients
of Social Security Disability Insurance benefits
to income-earning, taxpaying, productive members
of the American workforce by enacting legislation to:

·       Replace the monthly earnings penalty with
a graduated 3-for-1 phase-out (i.e., a $1
reduction in benefits for each $3 earned above the limit);

·       Replace the monthly earnings test with an
annualized earnings test with an amount equal to
twelve times. Substantial Gainful Activity amount; and

·       Establish an impairment-related work
expense deduction for blind Social Security
Disability Insurance beneficiaries equal to the
amount applicable for this deduction when
determining an appropriate income subsidy under
Medicare Part D or 16.3 percent of earnings, whichever is greater.


           For more information about these
priorities, please see below or 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.

ENHANCING PEDESTRIAN SAFETY:  ENSURING THE BLIND
CAN CONTINUE TO TRAVEL SAFELY AND INDEPENDENTLY


Purpose:  To require hybrid, electric, and other
vehicles to emit a minimum level of sound to
alert blind and other pedestrians of their presence.

Background:  Until recently independent travel
for the blind has been a relatively simple
matter, once a blind person has been trained in
travel techniques and has learned to use a white
cane or travel with a guide dog.  Blind people
listen to the sounds of automobile engines to
determine the direction, speed, and pattern of
traffic.  Sounds from traffic tell blind
pedestrians how many vehicles are near them and
how fast they are moving, whether the vehicles
are accelerating or decelerating, and whether the
vehicles are traveling toward, away from, or
parallel to them.  With all of this information,
blind people can accurately determine when it is
safe to advance into an intersection or across a
driveway or parking lot.  The information
obtained from listening to traffic sounds allows
blind people to travel with complete confidence
and without assistance. Studies have shown that
sighted pedestrians also use this information when traveling.

           Over the past few years, however,
vehicles that are completely silent in certain
modes of operation have come on the market, and
many more silent vehicles are expected in the
near future.  These vehicles are designed to have
many benefits, including improved fuel efficiency
and reduced emissions, but they do not need to be
silent in order to achieve these intended
benefits.  An unintended consequence of these
vehicles as they are currently designed is that
they will reduce the independence of blind
Americans and endanger the lives, not only of
blind people, but also of small children, seniors, cyclists, and runners.

           Currently the most popular of these
vehicles is the gasoline-electric hybrid, which
alternates between running on a gasoline engine
and on battery power (although a few electric
automobiles are already on America's roads and
new all-electric models are planned).  The blind
of America do not oppose the proliferation of
vehicles intended to reduce damage to the
environment, but for safety these vehicles must
meet a minimum sound standard.

           On April 9, 2008, Congressmen Ed Towns
and Cliff Stearns introduced H.R. 5734 (the
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008).  This
legislation sought to solve the problem of silent
cars by authorizing a two-year study to determine
the best method for allowing blind individuals to
recognize the presence of silent cars, and by
requiring that, two years after the study was
completed, all new vehicles sold in the United
States must comply with the solution determined
by the study.  In the 110th Congress,
eighty-eight members of the House cosponsored this legislation.

Need for Congressional Action:  For several years
the National Federation of the Blind has been
concerned about the proliferation of silent
vehicles.  Recently automobile manufacturers have
acknowledged the problems posed to blind
pedestrians by silent vehicle technology and have
begun to work with the National Federation of the
Blind to seek solutions.  However, federal
regulators have indicated that, in the absence of
statistics on injuries or deaths caused by hybrid
vehicles, nothing can be done.  Congress must
therefore direct the Department of Transportation
to take action.  It is crucial that this problem
be addressed before the inevitable avalanche of
tragedies involving blind people, small children,
seniors, cyclists, runners, and newly blinded veterans shocks the nation.

Proposed Legislation:  Congressmen Towns and
Stearns have reintroduced the Pedestrian Safety
Enhancement Act to direct the Secretary of
Transportation to conduct a study and establish a
motor vehicle safety standard that provides a
means of alerting blind and other pedestrians of
motor vehicle operation, based on appropriate
scientific research and consultation with blind
Americans and other affected groups.  This
national motor vehicle safety standard must have
the following characteristics:
    * In all phases of operation (including times
when the vehicle is at a full stop) vehicles
shall be required to emit an omni-directional
sound with similar spectral characteristics to
those of a modern internal combustion engine.
    * The sound should vary in a way that is
consistent with the sound of vehicles with
combustion engines to indicate whether the
vehicle is idling, maintaining a constant speed,
accelerating, or decelerating.
           The standard need not prescribe the
apparatus, technology, or method to be used by
vehicle manufacturers to achieve the required
minimum sound level.  This approach will
encourage manufacturers to use innovative and
cost-effective techniques to achieve the minimum sound standard.
           The addition of components to emit a
minimum sound discernible by blind and other
pedestrians will not negatively affect
environmental benefits of gasoline-electric
hybrids and other automobiles running on
alternate power sources, and the emitted sound
need not be loud enough to contribute to noise
pollution.  Automobiles that operate in complete
silence, however, endanger the safety of all of
us; silent operation should be viewed as a design
flaw comparable to the lack of seat belts or air bags.

Requested Action:  Please support blind Americans
by cosponsoring the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement
Act to authorize the U.S. Department of
Transportation to establish and promulgate
regulations specifying a minimum sound standard
for all new automobiles sold in the United
States.  In the House of Representatives, members
can be added by contacting Emily Khoury in
Congressman Towns's office, or James Thomas in
Congressman Stearns's office.  In the Senate
members can support independence for blind
Americans by sponsoring companion legislation.


Contact Information:
Jesse Hartle
Government Programs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2233
Email:  jhartle at nfb.org

A TECHNOLOGY BILL OF RIGHTS FOR THE BLIND


Purpose:  To create a Technology Bill of Rights
for the Blind that mandates consumer electronics,
home appliances, and office equipment to provide
user interfaces 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 like consumer electronics, home
appliances, and office equipment.  Many new
devices in these categories require user
interaction with visual displays, on-screen
menus, touch screens, and other user interfaces
that are inaccessible to individuals who are
blind or have low vision.  No longer are settings
on the television, home stereo system, or
dishwasher controlled by knobs, switches, and
buttons that can be readily identified and whose
settings can be easily discerned, with or without
the addition of tactile markings by the
user.  Moreover, the use of inaccessible
interfaces on office equipment such as copiers
and fax machines makes these devices unusable by
the blind and therefore a potential threat to a
blind person's existing job or a barrier to obtaining new employment.

           This growing threat to the
independence and productivity of blind people is
unnecessary since digital devices can function
without inaccessible interfaces.  Today
text-to-speech technology is inexpensive and more
nearly ubiquitous 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.  Indeed, a few manufacturers have
incorporated this technology into their products
to create talking menus or to articulate what is
on the display; there is no reason why other
manufacturers cannot do so as well.  And
text-to-speech technology is not the only
mechanism by which consumer electronics, home
appliances, and office equipment can be made accessible to blind people.

Need for Legislation:  Currently there are no
enforceable mandates for manufacturers of
consumer electronics, home appliances, or office
equipment to make their devices accessible and no
accessibility standards to provide guidance to
manufacturers on how to avoid creating barriers
to access by the blind.  Congress should
therefore enact a Technology Bill of Rights for
the Blind, which clearly establishes that
manufacturers must create accessible user
interfaces for their products, provide a means
for enforcement, and establish standards that
will provide meaningful benchmarks that
manufacturers can use to make their products accessible.

           Congress need not mandate a single,
one-size-fits-all solution for all consumer
technology.   Rather any such legislation should
mandate regulations that set meaningful
accessibility standards, while at the same time
allowing manufacturers to select from a menu of
potential solutions that, singly or in
combination, will allow blind users to operate
the technology easily and successfully.  This
will not only give manufacturers the freedom and
flexibility they desire, but encourage
innovations that make consumer technology more usable for everyone.



Proposed Legislation:  Congress should enact a
Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind that:

    * Mandates that all consumer electronics,
home appliances, and office equipment  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; and

    * Creates a commission 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, and office equipment or associations
representing such manufacturers; and experts on
universal design, electronic engineering, and
related fields.  This commission should have
enforcement powers or be housed within a
government agency having such powers (e.g., U.S.
Department of Commerce), and should be authorized
to reexamine and rewrite standards periodically,
as consumer electronic technology continues to evolve.

Requested Action:  Please support blind Americans
by introducing legislation to create a Technology
Bill of Rights for the Blind (or by cosponsoring
once legislation has been introduced) so that
blind people will be able to participate fully in
all aspects of American society.  Increased
access leads to increased independence, increased
employment, and increased tax revenue.



Contact Information:
James McCarthy
Government Programs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2240
Email:  jmccarthy at nfb.org

REMOVING THE EARNINGS PENALTY:  A COMMON SENSE
WORK INCENTIVE FOR BLIND SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFICIARIES


Purpose:  To promote and facilitate the
transition by blind Americans from Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
beneficiaries to income-earning, taxpaying,
productive members of the American workforce.

Background:  The unemployment rate for
working-age blind people is over 70
percent.  Part of the reason for this
disproportionately high statistic is the myths
and misconceptions about the true capacities of
blind people.  These erroneous perceptions are
manifested when employers refuse to hire the blind.

           In addition, governmental programs
intended to help blind people meet their basic
economic needs, especially the SSDI program, have
had the unintended consequence of creating an
incentive for blind people to remain unemployed
or underemployed despite their desire to
work.  Low societal expectations result in low
representation of the blind in the
workforce.  This low representation of the blind
reinforces low societal expectations­it is a
vicious circle that perpetuates systemic
employment discrimination against the blind.

           Despite the efforts of the National
Federation of the Blind, blindness still has
profound social and economic
consequences.  Governmental programs should
encourage blind people to reach their full
employment potential; they should not encourage economic dependence.

Existing Law:  Title II of the Social Security
Act provides that disability benefits paid to
blind beneficiaries are eliminated if the
beneficiary exceeds a monthly earnings
limit.  This earnings limit is in effect a
penalty imposed on blind Americans when they
work.  This penalty imposed by the SSDI program
means that, if a blind person earns just $1 over
$1,640 (the monthly limit in 2009 following a
Trial Work Period), all benefits are lost.

           Section 216(i)(1)(B) of the Social
Security Act defines blindness as a disability
based on objective measurement of acuity and
visual field, as opposed to the subjective
criterion of inability to perform Substantial
Gainful Activity (SGA).  For blind people, doing
work valued at the SGA earnings limit terminates
benefits but does not terminate disability.  Only
blind people not working or those with work
earnings below an annually adjusted statutory
earnings limit receive benefits.

Need for Legislation:  When a blind person enters
the workforce, there is no guarantee that wages
earned will replace SSDI benefits after taxes are
paid and work expenses are deducted.  For
example, Jane worked as a customer service
representative with an annual income of $35,000
until she became blind from diabetic
retinopathy.  Jane meets the criteria for SSDI
benefits, which provide income of $1,060 a month
(or $12,720 a year) tax-free while she is not
working.  Jane wants additional income to meet
her financial needs.  After an adjustment period
and blindness skills training, she finds
employment as a part-time representative making
$10 an hour for 35 hours a week.  Jane grosses
$350 a week for an average of $1,517 a
month.  Using a conservative 25 percent
withholding tax, Jane nets $1,137.50 from her
work, combined with her $1,060 disability
benefit, for a net total of $2,197.50 a
month.  If Jane should have the opportunity to
work full time (40 hours), her weekly salary
would go up to $400 a week for a monthly average
of $1,733.  This amount is over the 2009 earnings
limit, so Jane loses all of her disability
benefits.  Using the same 25 percent tax level,
Jane nets only $1,300 a month­working an extra
five hours a week has cost Jane $897.50 net
income (over $10,500 a year).  This example
illustrates the work disincentive contained in current law.

           A gradual reduction of $1 in benefits
for every $3 earned over the earnings limit would
remove the earnings penalty and provide a
financial incentive to work.  The benefit amount
paid to an individual will gradually decrease,
while the individual's contribution to the Social
Security trust fund increases over time.  Under
this approach, as Jane earns more, she pays more
into the trust fund, and her dependence on benefits decreases.

           Monthly earnings evaluations are
unnecessarily complicated for both the
beneficiaries and the Social Security
Administration.  Since the medical prognosis for
blind people rarely changes, and because
blindness is objectively measurable, blind people
should be subject to an annual earnings test with
the limit equal to the twelve times applicable monthly SGA amount.

           Under current law blind workers
frequently pay for items and services related to
their disabilities that are necessary for them to
work, and they are permitted to subtract these
Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE) from
monthly earnings when determining monthly
income.  Properly crediting IRWE poses a serious
challenge to the SSDI program and creates a lack
of predictability for the blind person trying to
determine whether benefits will be available.  To
address both issues, Congress should permit SSDI
recipients to claim the same amount used when
determining an income subsidy under the Medicare
prescription drug program, currently 16.3 percent.

           Congress should enact legislation to:
·       Provide that earnings of blind SSDI
beneficiaries in excess of the annual earnings
limit result in a gradual benefit reduction of $1
for each $3 earned over the limit;
·       Establish an annual earnings test for blind SSDI beneficiaries; and
·       Establish one standard IRWE deduction for
blind SSDI beneficiaries equal to the amount
presently applicable for this deduction when
determining an appropriate income subsidy under
the Medicare prescription drug program or 16.3
percent of earnings, whichever is greater.

Requested Action:  Please support blind Americans
by cosponsoring legislation that provides a
common sense work incentive for blind Social Security beneficiaries.

Contact Information:
James McCarthy
Government Programs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Phone:  (410) 659-9314, extension 2240
Email:  jmccarthy at nfb.org

The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

2009-Washington-Seminar-Legislative-Agenda-and-FactSheets.doc



Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail
programs may prevent sending or receiving certain
types of file attachments.  Check your e-mail
security settings to determine how attachments are handled.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


> _______________________________________________
> nabop mailing list
> nabop at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabop_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nabop:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabop_nfbnet.org/margo.downey%40verizon.net
> 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2009-Washington-Seminar-Legislative-Agenda-and-FactSheets1.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 131072 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nyagdu_nfbnet.org/attachments/20090128/c109702c/attachment.doc>