PR Newswire
Tuesday, December 12, 2006

National Federation of the Blind Applauds Treasury Appeal

United States Currency Does Not Discriminate Against Blind People

BALTIMORE, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's oldest and largest organization of blind persons, today announced its full support of the decision of the United States Department of the Treasury to appeal a court order mandating a redesign of U.S. paper money. The Federation plans to support the Treasury in the appeal process.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "The ruling of Judge James Robertson saying that U.S. currency discriminates against the blind was dangerous and wrong. The blind are not barred from using U.S. paper money because of the way it is designed. This ruling misinterpreted the meaning of discrimination. It also implied that the blind are not capable of looking out for our own best interests and that the whole world must be modified for our protection. If it is allowed to stand unchallenged, this ruling will do real harm to the blind by making our goal of full and equal participation in society virtually impossible to achieve. That is why the National Federation of the Blind will do everything in its power to support the Treasury in seeing that this ruling is overturned."
The appeal from the Treasury came in response to a November 28 ruling by Federal District Court Judge James Robertson saying that the design of U.S. paper money discriminates against the blind because all bills are the same size and shape. Judge Robertson ordered the Treasury to come up with design changes that would make currency identifiable to the blind by touch.
The day after the ruling, the National Federation of the Blind issued a strong statement that paper money is not a form of discrimination against the blind. In that statement, Dr. Maurer said: "Blind people transact business with paper money every day. This ruling puts a roadblock in the way of solving the real problem, which is the seventy percent unemployment rate among working-age blind Americans that severely limits our access to cash. The ruling will do nothing to alleviate that situation; in fact, it seriously endangers the ability of the blind to get jobs and participate fully in society. It argues that the blind cannot handle currency or documents in the workplace and that virtually everything must be modified for the use of the blind. An employer who believes that every piece of printed material in the workplace must be specially designed so that the blind can read it will have a strong incentive not to hire a blind person."
Blind people traditionally identify paper currency by folding bills of different denominations in different ways. Some blind people use devices that can speak the denomination of a bill aloud, and the Treasury is doing research to make such technology more readily available. In a 2002 resolution passed by the national convention of the NFB in response to the filing of the lawsuit against the Treasury, the organization suggested that providing money identification technology to the blind was probably a better solution to the problem than a wholesale redesign of the currency.
But most blind people use paper money without the need to carry a money identifier. "In reality, blind people do not routinely find that we have been short-changed," Maurer said. "If a question arises as to a particular transaction, we are perfectly capable of resolving the matter ourselves."


NewsReleaseWire.com
Thursday, December 14, 2006

ACB Vows to Continue the Battle for Accessible Currency

Washington, DC December 14 2006

The American Council of the Blind (ACB) has made its intention to continue the court battle for accessible currency pursuant to the ruling in its favor by the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia and despite opposition by the Bush administration.

"We anticipated that the U.S. Department of the Treasury would appeal the D.C. District Court ruling and were not surprised when the Department of Justice filed an appeal today on behalf of Treasury," said Christopher Gray, ACB's President.

"Treasury complains about the costs of making currency accessible," Gray added, "but they are not at all concerned about the cost of litigation. We are committed to this fight even to the Supreme Court, if necessary, because it is the right thing to do, and because it is the law of the United States."

Melanie Brunson, ACB's executive director, was not immediately available for comment. She was finishing up a week-long trip to Tokyo, Japan where she was a featured speaker addressing an international conference on accessibility to audio and video programming for the blind and visually impaired.

Estimates of the numbers of blind and visually impaired Americans who will benefit from accessible paper currency range from 3.3 million to 10 million.
This estimate, however, does not take into account the tens of millions of Americans who are beginning to experience sight loss because of age. Senior citizens are often not included in the visually impaired category, but many of them experience problems with reading currency in dim light, particularly at night, in gas stations, and in convenience stores.

"It seems to us that the arguments of those groups standing in opposition to our position are poorly founded, since no specific method of making the currency accessible has been put forward," Gray said. "Estimates of potential costs to vending machine operators and to cash register changes are simply unfounded at this time."

In reaching his ruling in the Federal District Court, Judge James Robertson noted that of 180 nations printing paper currency, only the United States makes no effort to make the currency accessible without vision.

As for small elements within the blindness community which have voiced opposition, Gray said that it is hard to find unanimity within any sector of the American society on any issue. "The blindness community would not have succeeded in moving into active participation in any sector of our society without steps to make material generated in print accessible in some way, from printed books to computer screens," Gray said. "We still have a long way to go to level the playing field, and the currency suit is merely one effort among many sponsored by the American Council of the Blind."

The American Council of the Blind is the largest consumer-based organization of blind and visually impaired Americans advocating for the rights of blind Americans. Composed of more than 70 affiliates in every community in the United States, the organization is dedicated to making it possible for blind and visually Americans to participate fully in every aspect of American society. For more information on the American Council of the Blind, and the issues it supports, visit www.acb.org.

Sharon Lovering (
slovering@acb.org)

Editor
American Council of the Blind
1155 15th St. NW
Washington, DC 20005
Phone : 202-467-5081 ext. 15
Fax : 202-467-5085


House Resolution 122 regarding Accessible Currency for the Blind

In 1997, House Resolution 122 came to the floor for discussion. The title of that bill read: Sense of House Regarding Tactile Currency for Blind and Visually Impaired. It stated that the Federal reserve notes of the United States are inaccessible to individuals with visual disabilities and that it constituted a serious impediment to independence in everyday living. The resolution went on to say that the House strongly encourages the Secretary of the Treasury and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to incorporate cost- effective, tactile features into the design changes, thereby including the blind and visually impaired community in independent currency usage.

On page 3 of 143 Congressional Record H 10371, are statements made by the sponsors of that bill. Below is a quote from those statements:

"I also want to express my appreciation to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the National Federation of the Blind for their technical assistance in drafting this proposal.

I want to mention in connection with this resolution that I am particularly pleased to have worked with the Federation. They have been a leading force in our country in helping all of us acquire a more rational understanding of blindness. That has certainly been the case as we worked together on this particular matter. The Federation notes that although the visually impaired are currently able to use and handle their money, this additional step will facilitate safer and more secure transactions."

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