-----Original Message-----
From: Melanie Brunson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 11:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [leadership] Funding for Talking Books for the Blind
Hello All,
The House Committee on Appropriations is set to vote tomorrow at 9:00
a.m. Est, on appropriations for the Legislative Branch. These
include funding for all of the programs of the Library of Congress,
including the National Library Service for the Blind. I will paste
below a copy of another letter that I sent to the members of the full
committee following last week's subcommittee mark up. However, it is
imperative that these representatives hear from their constituents as
well. You can reach any member of the House by calling the Capitol
switchboard at (202) 225-3121. You can also contact their local
offices and ask for a fax number for their Washington office if you
want to send a letter. I will put a list of the Appropriations
Committee members at the end of this message.
Thanks very much for your help.
Melanie
Text of letter
Dear Appropriations Committee Member,
I am writing on behalf of the American Council of the Blind to urge
you to grant the appropriation of $19.1 million requested by the
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
(NLS) to fund their transition to digital talking book
production. Our organization represents tens of thousands of blind
and visually impaired individuals from every state in the union. Our
members rely on reading material provided by NLS for a wide variety
of reasons, including professional development, education,
information to aid in their civic participation, as well
as entertainment. It is vital to the interests of the blind
community throughout this country that this program be preserved. To
accomplish this, it is necessary that the technology used to produce
and distribute talking books be brought into the 21st century.
We have followed the deliberations of NLS over the course of the past
several years during which the plan to transition to digital talking
books was developed. In fact, members of our organization
participated directly in the creation and implementation of these
plans as future consumers of the digital talking book program. We
are impressed and pleased by the level of consumer involvement used
by NLS in developing the proposed digital system. We are confident
that the technology that has been chosen for future distribution of
talking books, and the proposed implementation schedule will
effectively meet the needs of their blind and visually impaired
patrons for decades to come.
We are aware that a recent report issued by the Government
Accountability Office has generated some controversy regarding the
proposed solution
NLS has adopted for digital talking books. We wish to suggest that
this report appears
to be significantly flawed both in its presentation of fact and its
conclusions.
We believe that Congress has not been well served by this analysis and hope
you
will disregard it.
We are also aware that funds are tight and that the Subcommittee on
the Legislative Branch has authorized $7.5 million during the next
fiscal year for this program. This sum is grossly insufficient to
enable NLS to continue making talking books available to more than
750 thousand blind and physically handicapped individuals across the
country who currently rely on this program..
The technology being proposed by NLS is recognized by industry
experts as solid and, unlike similar "off-the-shelf" digital
technology, is readily usable by blind and visually impaired people
of all ages and abilities. Such usability by a diverse population
with widely varying capabilities is absolutely essential to the
integrity of this program.
Without sufficient funding, the talking book program will not only be
unable to move forward, but will be unable to maintain its present
level of service, because of the limited availability of the cassette
playback equipment that is currently in use. Please do not put the
literacy of all blind and visually impaired Americans at
risk. Please authorize the appropriation requested by the National
Library Service for the digital talking book program.
If you require any additional information about this issue, please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Melanie Brunson, Executive Director
End of Letter.
Members of the House Appropriations Committee:
David Obey, Chair (d-wi)
John Murtha (d-pa)
Norman Dicks (d-wa)
Alan Mollohan (d-WV)
Marcy Kaptur (d-OH)
Peter Visclosky (d-IN)
Nita Lowey (d-NY)
Jose Serrano (d-NY)
Rosa DeLauro (d-CT)
Jim Moran (d-VA)
John Olver (d-MA)
Ed Pastor (d-AZ)
David Price (d-NC)
Chet Edwards (d--TX)
Bud Cramer (d-AL)
Patrick Kennedy (d-RI)
Maurice Henchey (d-NY)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (d-CA)
Sam Farr (d-CA)
Jesse Jackson, Jr. (d-Il)
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (d-MI)
Allen Boyd (d-FL)
Chaka Fattah (d--PA)
Steven Rothman (d-NJ)
Sanford Bishop, Jr. (d-GA)
Marion Berry (d-AR)
Barbara Lee (d-CA)
Tom Udall (d-NM)
Adam Schiff (d-CA)
Michael Honda (d-CA)
Betty McCallum (d-MN)
Steve Israel (d-NY)
Timothy Ryan (d-OH)
Dutch Ruppersberger (d-MD)
Ben Chandler (d-KY)
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (d-FL)
Ciro Rodriguez (d-TX)
Jerry Lewis (r-CA)
C.W. Bill Young (r-FL)
Ralph Regula (r-OH)
Harold Rogers (r-KY)
Frank Wolf (r-VA)
James Walsh (r-NY)
David Hobson (r-OH)
Joe Knollenberg (r-MI)
Jack Kingston (r--GA)
Rodney Frelinghuysen (r-NJ)
Roger Wicker (r-MS)
Tod Tiahrt (r-KS)
Zach Wamp (r-TN)
Tom Latham (r-IA)
Robert Aderholt (r-AL)
Jo Ann Emerson (r-MO)
Kay Granger (r-TX)
John Peterson (r-PA)
Virgil Goode, Jr. (r-VA)
John Doolittle (r-CA)
Ray LaHood (r-IL)
Dave Weldon (r-FL)
Mike Simpson (r-ID)
John Culberson (r-TX)
Mark Steven Kirk (r-IL)
Ander Crenshaw (r-FL)
Dennis Rehberg (r-MT)
John Carter (r-TX)
Rodney Alexander (r-LA).
--
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