For more information contact: James Gashel Director of Governmental Affairs LEGISLATIVE AGENDA 1996 FROM: Members of the National Federation of the Blind TO: Members of the 104th Congress RE: Legislative Priorities of Blind Americans Public policies and laws affecting blind people have a profound impact on our entire society. Most people know someone who is blind. It may be a friend, a family member, or a co-worker on the job. The blind population in the U. S. is estimated to exceed 700,000. Fifty thousand Americans become blind each year. By themselves these numbers may not seem large, but the social and economic consequences of blindness directly touch the lives of millions. In the form of its social consequences and to some extent its economic consequences, blindness affects virtually everyone. Blind people as a group are engaged in a common struggle for understanding of what blindness means and public acceptance of our ability to compete on terms of equality if given the chance. More than being a matter of physical disability, the real problems of blindness are lack of good training, lack of opportunity, and lack of correct information about blindness among employers and members of the public at large. If a blind person has proper training and opportunity, the physical loss of eyesight itself can be reduced to the level of a mere nuisance. Public policies and laws that result from misconceptions about blindness or lack of information are often more limiting than the loss of eyesight itself. This is why we have formed the National Federation of the Blind. The Federation is a private- sector resource of knowledge, encouragement, and support for blind people in the United States and increasingly throughout the world. The Federation's leaders and the vast majority of the members are blind, but membership is open to anyone who wants to join in the effort we are making to win understanding and equality in society. Blind people are well-organized at the community and grassroots levels throughout the United States. Our policy positions are developed and determined by vote of the blind themselves. This is why the Federation is known by lawmakers and the public as the "voice of the nation's blind." Our priorities for the second session of the 104th Congress express our assessment of issues requiring particular action by Congress on behalf of the blind this year. (1) Congress should enact exempt earnings provisions in the Social Security Act to promote greater work incentives and opportunities for persons who are blind or of retirement age. This proposal seeks to improve the work incentives provided to Social Security beneficiaries. Under a 1977 amendment to the Social Security Act, the same exempt earnings amount--$960.00 monthly or $11,520.00 annually--(the same amount allowed for seniors) is allowed for people of working age who are blind. This proposal calls for increasing the earnings exemption threshold in specified increments while preserving the identical exempt amount for blind people and seniors. People of working age who are blind must not be forgotten as Congress continues to debate whether changes should be made in the Social Security retirement test. A significant relaxation of the present earnings limitation would encourage thousands of beneficiaries to increase their work attempts. Those who successfully find full- or part-time work will pay taxes rather than simply drawing benefits. The results of their greater efforts to be productive will positively affect the Social Security system as well as benefiting the individuals and families involved. A complete removal of the earnings limitation would provide beneficiaries with the maximum incentive to work. In any case, the statutory linkage which ties the exempt earnings amounts for retirees and working age people who are blind together should not be broken and must be consciously kept in mind as the debate over the future of the earnings test for Social Security eligibility proceeds. For more details and an explanation of the need for this legislation, see the fact sheet entitled "INCREASING THE SOCIAL SECURITY EARNINGS LIMIT: A CRITICAL TIME OF DECISION FOR BLIND PEOPLE." (2) Congress should amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to include provisions for strengthening programs of Braille literacy instruction. This can be done by enacting Braille literacy for blind persons provisions as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Goal Five of the National Education Goals declares that by the year 2000, "Every adult American will be literate. . . ." For blind people this means having the ability to read and write in Braille at a level of proficiency which makes performance on equal terms possible. Without legislative change, today's blind children will not be able to meet this national goal. As many as 32% of the blind students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. during the last school year were classified as "non-readers." Fewer than 10% read Braille. Current federal and state laws require that an appropriate educational opportunity must be provided to children with disabilities. Each such child is to have an individually planned program of instruction to meet identified needs, but growing illiteracy for blind children has been the result. Remedial federal legislation, similar to laws now enacted in 26 states, can help to reverse this trend. For more details and an explanation of the need for this legislation, see the fact sheet entitled "BRAILLE LITERACY AND THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT." (3) Congress should amend the Copyright Act in order to permit non-commercial reproduction and distribution of published works in specialized media exclusively for use by blind or disabled persons. This proposal would establish an extremely narrow and targeted limitation on the exclusive rights of copyright holders. The provision would specify that it is not an infringement of copyright for a nonprofit or governmental entity to convert published works into formats appropriate for distribution exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities who cannot physically use standard print. Bills now pending--H.R. 2441 and S. 1284--each include a variant of this specialized accessible media proposal. The primary purpose of both bills is to adapt U.S. copyright laws to developments in modern technology and the potential of the National Information Infrastructure. While the language contained in these bills acknowledges the need for improved copyright provisions to promote production of publications in specialized media, the proposed new section would institute a one-year waiting period for conversion of published works into formats which blind people can use. For this and other reasons, including lack of clarity of terms, a proposal for modifying the language is being offered. For more details and an explanation of the need for this legislation see the fact sheet entitled "ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR BLIND PERSONS: HOW COPYRIGHT AMENDMENTS COULD HELP." People who are blind are asking for your help in securing positive action by Congress in the areas outlined here. Legislative proposals will be offered to achieve each of our specific objectives. Many priorities confront this session of Congress, but the needs of the nation's blind must not be overlooked. We of the National Federation of the Blind stand ready to assist our representatives and senators to understand our needs and to take meaningful action to address them. In partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, each member of Congress can help build better lives for the blind both today and in the years ahead. For further information contact: James Gashel Director of Governmental Affairs FACT SHEET INCREASING THE SOCIAL SECURITY EARNINGS LIMIT: A CRITICAL TIME OF DECISION FOR BLIND PEOPLE BACKGROUND: The Social Security earnings limit, also known as the "retirement test," is widely recognized as causing a significant work disincentive. For this reason Congress is moving toward final approval of a bill to raise the earnings limit by specified increases over seven years. Two separate bills--H.R.2684, which passed the House in December, and S.1470, which is pending on the Senate calendar--would change the earnings limit and are likely to receive further consideration before Congress adjourns next fall. Blind people of working age will suffer a severe setback if the House-passed approach to the earnings limit changes becomes law. This is because the House bill would repeal a provision in the Social Security Act which exempts earnings of blind people and senior citizens to the same extent. The effect of the repealer provision--Section 2(b)(2) of H.R.2684--would be an earnings limit for seniors of $30,000 beginning in 2002 while the limit in effect for blind people would be less than half that amount. The reason for increasing the seniors' exempt amount is to diminish the disincentive caused by the present $11,520 earnings limit and to increase work and productivity. By the same reasoning, the higher earnings exemption should also apply to blind people who, like the seniors, are penalized for working. EXISTING LAW: Section 216(i) of the Social Security Act specifies what "blindness" means. The definition of blindness is clearly stated in medical terms. Therefore, blindness can be determined quite reliably on the basis of objective medical evidence. This unique feature of the Social Security Act makes blindness the only defined disability. All other disabilities are determined on the basis of an individual's "inability to engage in substantial gainful activity." This inability is actually hard to determine reliably in many cases. Although blindness is precisely defined, monthly disability insurance benefits are not paid to all persons who are blind. Under the law, benefits are only paid to those people who are blind and who do not have substantial earnings. Wealth not resulting from current work activity does not count as earnings and has no effect on eligibility. Only work is penalized, just as with retirees. The amount of earnings considered to be "substantial" for working people who are blind is the same amount that senior citizen retirees may earn without having their Social Security benefits reduced due to excess earnings. This amount is currently $960 monthly or $11,520 annually. Precisely the same section of the Social Security Act--paragraph (D) of Section 203 (f)(8)--is used to establish the respective exempt earnings standards for retirees and for persons of any age who are blind. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS: The amendments made by H.R.2684 and S.1470 are identical in respect to phased-in adjustments in the earnings limit. The modifications to the earnings limit would occur over a seven-year period. Section 2(b)(2) of either bill would specifically exclude blind people from the mandated adjustments. In order to address this inequity, Senator Jeff Bingaman has prepared an amendment to be offered during floor consideration of S.1470. His amendment is designed to preserve the linkage of earnings exemptions for blind people and seniors. The National Federation of the Blind (along with every other organization having interests in the blindness field) strongly supports this amendment and opposes the linkage-breaking provision passed by the House. By creating an earnings limit that is lower for blind people than for seniors, the House-passed bill would apply a harsh work disincentive policy to blind Americans. Although H.R.2684 passed the House in December, support among House members to retain the linkage of earnings exemptions in a final bill is substantial. Attesting to this, a concurrent resolution--H.CON.RES 23 by Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly--has attracted 179 cosponsors. This expressed support is still building and must be considered when negotiations occur on the final bill. NEED TO REMOVE WORK DISINCENTIVES: Continuing the existing policy by mandating the adjustments in the earnings limit for blind people as well as for age sixty-five retirees will assure that an estimated 104,300 blind beneficiaries will receive a powerful work incentive. Most blind people could then not lose financially by working. The mandated earnings limit changes if made applicable to blind people would be cost-beneficial, since among those of working age 70 percent are currently unemployed or underemployed. Most of them are already beneficiaries. At present their earnings must be strictly limited to $960 per month. When earnings exceed this exempt amount, the entire sum paid to a primary beneficiary and dependents is abruptly withdrawn after a trial work period. When a blind person finds work, there is absolutely no assurance that earnings will replace the amount of lost disability benefits after taxes and work expenses are paid. Usually they do not. Therefore, few of the 104,300 beneficiaries can actually afford to attempt substantial work. Those who do will often sacrifice income and will certainly sacrifice the security they have from the automatic receipt of a monthly check. This group of beneficiaries--people of working age who are blind--must not be forgotten as the debate proceeds toward modifying the Social Security retirement test. Just as with hundreds of thousands of seniors, their positive response to the higher amounts of earnings allowed will bring additional revenues into the Social Security trust funds. Work, productivity, and the opportunity for more people to pay taxes are constructive and valid goals for blind people and senior citizens alike. For further information contact: James Gashel Director of Governmental Affairs FACT SHEET BRAILLE LITERACY AND THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT BACKGROUND: The National Literacy Act of 1991 defines "literacy" as "an individual's ability to read, write, and speak in English, and compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job and in society to achieve one's goals and develop one's knowledge and potential." This definition points up the critical importance of emphasizing high-quality literacy training programs for all Americans. For blind Americans, especially school-age youth, the need is no less critical. Yet, surprisingly few students who are blind or visually impaired receive instruction in Braille as a part of their elementary and secondary education programs. Blind students are generally defined as those who see less than 10 percent of what is seen by someone with normal eyesight. During the 1993-1994 school year there were approximately 54,000 such children enrolled at the elementary and secondary levels in the U. S. Only 5,064 of these students read Braille. The vast majority use print materials even in situations in which reading with sight is an unrewarding, never-ending daily struggle. Educators often resist teaching Braille until students are unable to make any progress at all in school by using print. As a result, Braille has become not the method of choice but the method of last resort. EXISTING LAW: The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) contains federal standards for special education and related services to be provided to children with disabilities throughout the U.S. The most important standard is that each such child is entitled to a "free, appropriate public education." Education agencies, both state and local, receive federal funding to assist in meeting this mandate. When special education services are provided to a child there must be an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to describe the needs of the child for special instruction, the services to be provided, and the goals to be achieved. The law also requires the use of qualified personnel to deliver services. The components of an "appropriate education" are not strictly defined in IDEA. As a result, it is easy and tempting for school personnel to determine a child's needs largely on the basis of the school's capacity (or lack of capacity) to provide special instruction or services. This being the case, blind students who may have even a limited ability to read print are guided toward receiving instruction in that form instead of using Braille. Procedural safeguards, including the right to challenge decisions through administrative and court appeals, exist under IDEA, but such proceedings are time-consuming and costly in financial and educational resources. PROPOSED LEGISLATION: Congress should amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to include provisions for strengthening programs of Braille literacy instruction. Grants to state and local education agencies are permanently authorized under part B of IDEA. However, the authorization of funds for certain ancillary programs under IDEA technically expired on September 30, 1995. Bills to extend the expired authorizations are being reviewed in both the House and the Senate. The proposal for federal legislation on Braille literacy is necessary to support laws with a similar purpose which 26 states have now enacted. These laws require individualized assessment of a blind student's need for Braille. The federal legislation will be designed to ensure that Braille instruction and services are actually included in each blind child's IEP unless all members of the planning team agree that use of Braille is not necessary to meet the child's literacy needs. Specific language to incorporate this requirement into section 614 of IDEA is expected to be included in a reauthorization bill which the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities will consider during the present session. NEED FOR LEGISLATION: It is the policy of our nation as stated in the National Education Goals that by the year 2000, "Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship." In order for blind adults to achieve this goal, literacy instruction must be strengthened for children. The direction of current trends and educational programming shows that this goal will not be achieved without deliberate corrective action. According to official child count figures supplied annually by state and local education agencies, 32% of the blind students at the elementary and secondary levels are "nonreaders," and the percentage of nonreaders increases every year. The number who read Braille is correspondingly declining. The experience gathered in many states over several years shows that a legislative response is needed to reverse this trend of growing illiteracy among blind school-age youth. By enacting a strong Braille literacy provision when programs under IDEA are reauthorized this year, Congress can provide the leadership to ensure that blind students graduate from our nation's schools literate and armed with the necessary skills to be first-class citizens of our society. For more information contact: James Gashel Director of Governmental Affairs FACT SHEET ACCESS TO INFORMATION FOR BLIND PERSONS: HOW COPYRIGHT AMENDMENTS COULD HELP BACKGROUND: For blind people, the inability to read standard printed text can severely limit both the quantity and type of information available. This is due in large part to the fact that the great mass of readers can be reached cost-effectively with the printed format. Also, publishers do not consider formats, other than standard print, to be cost-effective. This is largely so because of the extremely small market for non-ink- print editions of published works and the cost and complexity of using other media. Even so, publishers have the right by law to cry foul if a nonprint edition of a published work is reproduced and circulated by another source. This right can be enforced even if republication using specialized media and reaching a unique audience, such as blind people, is sponsored and paid for by a noncommercial source. In fact, conversion of published text into Braille or other usable formats for the blind is done as a nonprofit or governmental public service in virtually every instance. However, the service cannot be provided until the copyright holder's approval is obtained. EXISTING LAW: Section 106 of title 17, United States Code, known as the Copyright Act, presently gives copyright holders the exclusive right to circulate published works. The copyright holder's exclusive rights apply to any format in which the published work might be re-distributed. The same rights also apply even if the distribution format used by the copyright holder by its very nature prevents effective use of the material by blind people. The only applicable limitation on a copyright holder's exclusive right in this regard permits noncommercial broadcast transmission of information under narrowly prescribed conditions for use by blind, deaf, or other persons with disabilities who cannot use standard printed matter. Section 710 of title 17 provides authority for copyright holders voluntarily to wave exclusive publication rights in accordance with regulations made by the Librarian of Congress. The purpose for this voluntary process is to permit transcription of nondramatic literary works into Braille or sound recorded formats. This section makes possible a national network of specialized library services for blind and disabled persons with leadership from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress. PROPOSED LEGISLATION: Congress should amend the Copyright Act in order to permit noncommercial reproduction and distribution of published works in specialized media exclusively for use by blind or disabled persons. This proposal would establish an extremely narrow and targeted limitation on the exclusive rights of copyright holders. The provision would specify that it is not an infringement of copyright for a nonprofit or governmental entity to convert or distribute published works in formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities who cannot physically use standard print. Bills now pending--H.R. 2441 and S. 1284--each include a variant of this specialized accessible media proposal. The primary purpose of both bills is to adapt U.S. copyright laws to developments in modern technology and the potential of the National Information Infrastructure. The language grants non-profit organizations the right to reproduce or distribute Braille, large type or other editions of literary works if the copyright holder has not entered the market with such editions within one year from the date of original publication. The audience for the specialized media is not precisely defined other than the obvious inclusion of blind and visually impaired persons. NEED FOR LEGISLATION: The pending amendments to the Copyright Act are needed to support the further development and use of the evolving National Information Infrastructure as well as to protect the legitimate intellectual property interests of authors and publishers. Beyond this, since use of printed media is no longer the only option for dissemination of published material in many instances, the advancements being made in technology used to create, store, retrieve, and disseminate ideas hold great promise for blind and visually impaired people. In contrast to sighted people who are able to purchase a plethora of reading matter from readily available commercial sources, blind people in the general population have tax-supported, specialized libraries as virtually their only source of published literature. Suppliers, other than specialized libraries, do exist for disseminating textbooks in Braille and spoken-word formats, but the population they serve consists mainly of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students. The libraries provide Braille and "talking book" services to approximately 800,000 people nationwide. Funds for mass reproduction of reading matter for the blind do not go very far in meeting the real needs of this diverse population. In books alone, as many as 40,000 new titles are published in the English language each year. Using libraries as exclusive suppliers, less than 5 percent of these newly published works are converted annually into Braille or sound-recorded formats. Moreover, delays sometimes exceeding a year can result from the present copyright clearance system. In a society whose members increasingly depend upon access to information for successful living, blind people cannot afford to endure a growing gap in access to knowledge. Amendments to the Copyright Act could help, however, by allowing immediate conversion of published works into specialized media and by promoting greater use of alternatives to ink print in publishing technology.