FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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DISABILITY GROUPS PROTEST CUTBACKS AT FEDERAL REHAB AGENCY
Proposed changes threaten delivery of vocational rehabilitation
services.
Baltimore (May 19, 2005): - Over a thousand blind and disabled people will gather in
Washington on Thursday, May 26, 2005, 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
Linda McCarty
Director of Public Relations
Office (410) 659-9314, ext. 2220
Cell (419) 340-0475
Patricia Maurer
Director of Community Relations
Office (410) 659-9314, ext. 2272
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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 10:30 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 eliminating
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."
National Federation of 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. In January 2004, the NFB opened the NFB Jernigan Institute,
the first research and training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
Posted: April 18, 2005
Email: webmaster@nfb.org
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