|
 NFB
and Other Disability Groups Protest Cutbacks at Federal Rehab
Agency
PR Newswire, Thursday, May 19, 2005
For more articles like this
visit http://www.nfb.org.
Over a thousand blind and disabled people from all over the
United States will gather in Washington next week to protest
cutbacks and other changes at the Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA). Spearheaded by the National Federation of
the Blind (NFB) and supported by numerous other disability
organizations, the protest will challenge Department of
Education plans to close ten regional RSA offices, eliminate
about half the agency's personnel, downgrade the position of
commissioner of the RSA, and block grant vocational
rehabilitation funds.
"These proposals significantly weaken our nation's commitment to
help the blind become productive taxpayers rather than
recipients of public benefits," said Marc Maurer, president of
the NFB. "The blind and disabled face a disheartening
unemployment rate of over 70 percent, yet the Department of
Education wants to dismantle the single most effective program
for preparing the blind to enter the workforce." Joanne Wilson,
a former commissioner of the RSA and one of the highest- ranking
disabled persons in the Bush administration, will be among the
protestors as will Fredric Schroeder, who was commissioner of
the RSA during the Clinton administration. Wilson, who is blind,
was appointed by President Bush to be the commissioner of the
RSA in 2001, but recently resigned her position to protest the
proposed changes at the agency.
"I cannot stand by while the Bush Administration tries to tear
down a system that has helped so many blind and disabled people
find employment," said Wilson. "Just look at me. Thanks to good
vocational rehabilitation when I was young, I have been employed
and paying taxes for forty years. Isn't this the outcome we want
for all our blind and disabled citizens?" Joining the NFB in
protesting the planned changes are over thirty professional and
disability organizations including the National Council of State
Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB), the American Association of
People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Rehabilitation
Association, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and the
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR).
The protestors will gather in front of the Department of
Education on Thursday, May 26, 2005, at 10:00 a.m.
The Bush
administration has laid out a plan that would close all of the
RSA regional offices responsible for assisting states with the
implementation of rehabilitation programs; reduce the RSA staff
by approximately 50 percent, with a disproportionate effect
falling on people with disabilities employed by RSA; offer
states the option of receiving federal vocational rehabilitation
funds as part of a consolidated block grant under the Workforce
Investment Act; and eliminate the Division for the Blind and
Visually Impaired as part of a reorganization of the RSA central
office. In addition, the Department wants to downgrade the
position of commissioner of the RSA, currently a presidential
appointment.
"The proposed elimination of the Division for the Blind and
Visually Impaired is particularly troubling for the National
Federation of the Blind," continued Marc Maurer. "History has
shown that the blind have unique needs that are best met by
separate agencies and services. We need experienced and
knowledgeable people administering federal programs for the
blind." With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation
of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership
organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB
improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education,
research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field
today and the voice of the nation's blind.
SOURCE: National Federation of the Blind
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