National Association of the Deaf

The NAD is urging members to contact their Congressional representatives and ask for a vote against a bill that would weaken the Vocational Rehabilitation system. The NAD has closely monitored activity in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The failure of Congress to act in a timely manner during the 108th Congress distressed the NAD.  hat has happened thus far this year, in the 109th Congress, is nearly as disturbing.

In addition, the NAD has tracked administrative actions in the U.S. Department of Education.  Proposals have been made this spring that would further degrade the nation’s capacity to provide rehabilitation and independent living services to Americans with disabilities.

"While far from perfect, the Rehabilitation Act has provided much-needed employment training services for deaf and hard of hearing Americans for more than 90 years," said NAD Chief Executive Officer Nancy J. Bloch. "The current bill is a step backwards and should be voted down. As it stands, the proposed bill will make it much harder for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to obtain specialized employment training and services."
 
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are now discussing proposals to consolidate/block grant VR folding it into other employment training programs. This could well lead to much less communication access for deaf and hard of hearing Americans.

In a related development, the U.S. Department of Education wants to eliminate all regional offices of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). These regional offices provide much-needed technical assistance and compliance monitoring. There are 80 state VR agencies—far too many to be helped/tracked from Washington, DC alone.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the National Council on Disability (NCD) both have stated that other employment training programs often are not communication-accessible.
 
Concerned individuals can take action at:
http://www.nad.org/opposerehabproposal

More information can be found at:
http://www.nad.org/rehabact