[ivie] Chance to Promote Rehab Act Reauthorization, O&M & VRT Personnel Prep

[Ardis Bazyn]

ALERT!--Chance to Promote Rehab Act Reauthorization, O&M & VRT Personnel PrepFrom Eric Bridges:
This is a very accurate summry of what is happening with this legislation. ACB is
active in the discussions.
American Foundation for the Blind
ALERT!
Opportunity to Promote Rehab Act Reauthorization, O&M & VRT Personnel Prep
For further information, contact:
Mark Richert, Esq.
Director, Public Policy, AFB
(202) 469-6833
MRichert at afb.net
As advocates are aware, the Rehabilitation Act has not been formally reviewed and
renewed by Congress since 1998. The Act was to have been reauthorized in 2003, but
a variety of political and substantive policy impediments have blocked progress.
First, the Rehabilitation Act is part of a much larger legislative package, the so-called
Workforce Investment Act, about which Republicans and Democrats have had significant
differences for years in terms of overall structure and funding. The latest incarnation
of the House Republican approach, the approach which Republican leadership of the
House Education and the Workforce Committee have endorsed and promoted in hearings
this week, would radically consolidate job training programs and allow dollars for
vocational rehabilitation to be raided for other purposes. Second, with respect to
the Rehab Act itself, consensus continues to be lacking between the two political
parties and between the House and the Senate over whether the Commissioner of RSA
should remain a Presidentially appointed Commissioner, whether the Rehab Act should
acknowledge section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the option to employ
certain people with significant disabilities at subminimum wages, and a host of other
issues.
While it is extremely unlikely that the House and the Senate, let alone the two political
parties, will be able to resolve their considerable differences about a jobs bill
during a Presidential election year, nevertheless, advocates should be aware that
legislation is pending in both houses of Congress which, if enacted, would be helpful
in improving vocational rehabilitation services. Last Summer, the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pentions (HELP) Committee was prepared to act on bipartisan
Senate language to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act and the Rehabilitation
Act, but objection from a couple lone Senators about a matter unrelated to the major
policy issues in play prevented action. Last month, legislation was introduced in
the House, H.R. 4227, which closely tracks the bipartisan Senate approach but which,
to date, has only garnered Democratic cosponsors in the House.
In making a variety of improvements and fine tuning to the delivery of rehabilitation
and independent living services, both the bipartisan Senate approach and H.R. 4227
include language proposed by AFB which would address the critical personnel shortage
in orientation and mobility and vision rehabilitation therapy by specifically directing
the Department of Education to make the funding of preparation programs in these
areas a higher priority.
Advocates are encouraged to communicate with House and Senate members alike that
Congress should act immediately to take up and pass the bipartisan Senate approach
and/or H.R. 4227 so that the Rehabilitation Act can finally be reauthorized and that
people who are blind or visually impaired can more reliably receive services provided
by appropriately trained professionals. Rather than simply communicating opposition
to the House Republican leadership's approach to reauthorization of the Workforce
Investment Act and the Rehabilitation Act, advocates are urged to keep their messages
to Congress positive and brief; make it clear that the integrity of funding for vocational
rehabilitation services is a bipartisan and mainstream policy priority and that Congress
has two pending iterations of such policy, i.e., the Senate bipartisan draft bill
and H.R. 4227, which should be acted upon promptly.

Ardis Bazyn
For inspirational speaking, business coaching, writing, or books: www.bazyncommunications.com
Read my latest online newsletter and subscribe to received newsletter notifications    
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/ivie/attachments/20120419/6220ce8a/attachment.html>