This is a follow-up from the hearing earlier this month. During the Congressional hearing on May 1, Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta recounted a very unfortunate experience he had at a Sprint store soon after he had lost his vision.
After he asked a store employee if they knew of any accessible cell phones for people who are blind, he was given a phone with a nub on the number five. The employee explained that this phone was accessible because with the nub, Jesse would be able to independently identify where the numbers 4, 2, 6, and 8 were located. Obviously this didn't meet his needs, and he left.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) suggested to the representative of the cell phone industry who had testified that it might be a good idea for Sprint to get Jesse an accessible phone. Naturally, the representative from the cell phone industry agreed. I am happy to report that Jesse was given a much more accessible cell phone to use. A Sprint representative personally trained him to use the LG Muziq phone.
Late last week, a representative from Sprint's headquarters flew to Washington to meet with us regarding this very phone. Sprint has become keenly aware that its image in the blindness community is quite poor. This phone, while not ideal, is far better than the rest of its previous offerings. Ironically, Sprint has not publicized the accessibility features on this phone to ACB or anyone else in the blindness community. The Sprint representative has asked ACB to review www.sprint.com for accessibility purposes and has started informal talks to have those user manuals that are available on their website be made available in alternate formats.
It is our understanding that there will be more accessible cellular offerings in the next 9 to 12 months.
On April 30, the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch held a hearing regarding the Library of Congress' budget for 2009. The subject of the NLS Digital Talking Book Program was raised by the chair of the subcommittee, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). She said that funding this program appropriately was one of her priorities.
The requested funding level for the program is $12.5 million. The Library of Congress said that it is prepared to complete the program in six years without too much restriction in service. This is simply not good enough.
When this program was started, the agreement was that it would be completed in four years at annual funding levels of $19.1 million. Please call the members of the subcommittee, listed below. Let them know that this program is very important to us, and that having access to information restricted in any small way is not acceptable.
Call the Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121
Democratic Subcommittee Members:
Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA) (Chairman)
Sen. Richard Durbin (IL)
Sen. Ben Nelson (NE)
Republican Subcommittee Members:
Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN) (Ranking Member)
Sen. Wayne Allard (CO)
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008 -- The U.S. Treasury Department discriminates because it has failed to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable by people who are blind, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
By a 2-1 vote, the court upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson in a lawsuit filed by the American Council of the Blind (ACB) against the U.S. Treasury Department.
ACB accused the department and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson of violating the Rehabilitation Act, which was meant to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently and fully participate in society.
The appeals court rejected the Treasury Department's arguments that making currency accessible would impose an undue burden on the government, and sent the case back to Robertson to address the group's request for relief.
Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the Blind, stated: "This is a tremendous victory for the ACB and for every blind and visually impaired person living in the United States today and in the future. We hope that the Treasury Department will now sit down with us to come up with a mutually satisfactory way of making our currency accessible."
"Virtually all of the other industrialized countries around the globe have accessible currency, and this is long overdue for the United States," commented Dr. Ron E. Milliman, who chairs ACB's Public Relations Committee.
"There are over 180 nations that have some sort of accessibility built in to their paper currency. Currencies used by countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, England, and even the euro have accessibility features. The U.S. is rather unique in that it is one of very few industrialized nations that has resisted including shape, size, texture, or meaningful color contrast in its bank notes," said Melanie Brunson, Executive Director of ACB.
ACB is once again holding a raffle. First prize is $5,000; second prize, $1,000; and third prize, $500. Tickets cost $50 each, and you may share the cost with friends (maximum 4 people per ticket). Winners will be drawn at the banquet on Friday, July 11. You don't need to be there to win - but you do need to buy a ticket to get the chance! So get together with friends, family, your affiliate's officers, and go in on a ticket.
To get yours, contact Sharon Lovering in the ACB national office, 1-800-424- 8666, e-mail slovering@acb.org.
The nation's three major consumer credit reporting companies today unveiled a comprehensive program to provide improved access to important credit information for people who are blind or visually impaired. The initiative, crafted with the American Council of the Blind, its California affiliate and several individual members of the blindness community, will help protect the credit information of individuals who cannot read a standard print credit report.
Under the plan announced today, Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Experian (EXPN.LN), and TransUnion have begun working to make online credit reports and related information accessible through their jointly operated web site, AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site to help consumers obtain free credit reports. Accessible credit reports for people with visual impairments will be available online by October 31 of this year. By the end of the year, the companies will also make credit reports available in braille and other formats at no charge to qualified individuals who cannot access print information.
Today's initiative includes a commitment to design online credit reports and related web pages in accordance with guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (www.w3.org/wai). The guidelines, which do not affect the content or look and feel of a web site, ensure that web sites are accessible to people with visual disabilities. The guidelines are of particular benefit to blind computer users who use screen reader or magnification technology on their computers and who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.
Dear ACB members and friends,
I am very pleased to share with you the following statements from a letter which Eric Bridges received on Friday.
Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554
Dear Mr. Bridges:
I am pleased to invite you, as a representative of the American Council of the Blind, to serve on the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) for a term beginning immediately, and ending November 17, 2008, or until the Committee terminates, whichever is earlier.
As the American Council of the Blind's representative, you will be a voting member of the Committee, helping us to ensure that all Americans have access to modern communications services. The digital television transition, which, by law, must be completed by February 17, 2009, will be a principal focus area for the Committee. We look forward to the valuable insights the Committee, through its work, will provide to further the Commission's goal of ensuring that all consumers are aware of the transition and understand what specific steps, if any, they must take to continue watching television after the transition is complete. You are reminded that service on the CAC involves a commitment to attend three (3) one-day meetings per year in Washington, D.C. and a further commitment to work on at least one (1) working group or subcommittee.
The Commission is committed to serving the interests of consumers by actively soliciting their input in the regulatory process and vigilantly assessing the impact of our decisions on the consumer community. ... I hope you will find it possible to accept this invitation and give us the benefit of your valued counsel. Thank you for your willingness to assist the Commission with this important endeavor.
Sincerely, Kevin J. J. Martin
Eric has been lobbying the FCC members and staff since last summer's ACB convention to get a person representing the visually impaired community appointed to this Consumer Advisory Committee. I am very proud of the work he has done and extremely gratified to see that the Chairman of the FCC not only recognized the strength of Eric's case, but concluded that Eric himself should fill that role. Please join me in congratulating Eric on his appointment. It represents a great opportunity for him, and for ACB.