From questions both on and off the list it would seem that my Legislative Update regarding S. 2918 was less than clear. The statement: "Because of big picture and long term political issues, the ACB National Office is limited in the stance it can take" was not intended to be overly mysterious or secretive.
It was only intended to indicate that right now, ACB is focused on positive action and support for our own organizational agenda, such as the disability provisions, accessible VOIP and video description in recent telecom legislation (S. 2686 - now renamed HR 5252.SR) and S. CON. RES 71 expressing the sense of the Congress that States should require candidates for driver's licenses to demonstrate an ability to exercise greatly increased caution when driving in the proximity of a potentially visually impaired individual.
Both of those bills are at sensitive points in the legislative process and need all the political capital and goodwill that we can muster to secure their passage. We have good reason to believe that if we use that political capital to vehemently oppose S. 2918, we run the risk of jeopardizing our legislation. ACB is working on S. 2918, however, we simply cannot afford to take a high-profile position at this time.
Day Al-Mohamed
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
American Council of the Blind
1155 15th St. NW
Washington DC 20005
Tel. 202-467-5081
dalmohamed@acb.org