Early this week, the new chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau called for the suspension of work by Bureau employees for at least a week. It is unknown what will transpire after that. The Bureau was established in 2011, and along with many other responsibilities, works to prevent fraud against the American people; the elderly and people with disabilities are more vulnerable to fraudulent activities. ACB will watch this change closely to see what happens with the Bureau. Congress ultimately has the authority to dissolve the agency

American Council
of the Blind, Inc.
Constitution and Bylaws

(As amended through the 2023 National Conference and Convention)

American Council of the Blind
225 Reinekers Ln.
Suite 660
Alexandria, VA 22314

(202) 467-5081
1-800-424-8666
…

Below are the links to the meeting minutes of the American Council of the Blind's Board of Directors for the year 2022.

• December 5 and December 12, 2022 ACB Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
• October 22, 2022 ACB Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
• September 13, 2022 ACB Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
• …

After a multitude of challenges from many advocacy groups, the January 27 memo on federal funding freezes has been rescinded. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put out their own statement to work to walk back the significant amount of misunderstanding that has occurred over the last few days. To our understanding, at this time, impacted programs will continue as expected. However, the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, emphasized that is was only a rescission of the memo, not the funding freeze policies. ACB will continue follow this issue to better understand this…

Minutes before the funding freeze was to go into effect on Tuesday afternoon, Judge Loren L. Alikhan from the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia issued a stay until Monday, February 3, 2025, to determine next steps on a lawsuit against the presidential directive given on Monday, January 27. A temporary restraining order was brought by the National Council on Nonprofits to prevent the freezing of federal funding for numerous federal programs.

ACB is still exploring how such funding freezes might impact the blind and low vision community. However, such freezes have been…

On Monday, January 27, President Trump released a two-page memo instructing federal agencies to temporarily cease all federal financial assistance and grant programs. According to one article, this includes diversity programs. Fortunately, numerous articles state that it will not include Social Security or Medicare benefits, as well as services provided directly to individuals.…

Alexandria, VA., Nov. 7th, 2024  – The 2025 American Council of the Blind (ACB) Leadership Conference will be a hybrid event. ACB’s Board Meeting, Presidents’ Meeting, Legislative Seminar, and Capitol Hill visits will take place March 14th-18th, at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington, VA.

Visit our conference page for details: https://www.acb.org/2025-acb-leadership-conference

Registration for the…

No one knows the importance of audio description (AD) better than students who rely on it to make filmed media accessible. The Benefits of Audio Description in Education (BADIE) blog and essay contest is an exciting chance for students on the blindness spectrum to share their thoughts about AD.

The Audio Description Project (ADP) and the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) encourage students who are blind or have low vision to engage with audio description. We’ve expanded our essay contest into the BADIE Blog, with multiple opportunities to be published and win great prizes…