The Advocacy and Governmental Affairs staff of the American Council of the Blind advocate on a wide variety of issues for people who are blind and visually impaired.
Our Recent Successes
Accessible Prescription Drug Labeling
Access to prescription drug labeling is essential for persons who are blind or visually impaired. ACB has successfully advocated for legislation to establish best practices for pharmacies to assist them in making prescription drug labeling accessible. You will find the accessible prescription drug provisions in Section 904, Accessibility of Information on Prescription Drug Container Labels by Visually Impaired and Blind Consumers, of S. 3187, the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (P.L.112-144), as passed by the House and the Senate.
The Access Board will convene a working group to determine a set of best practices for making drug labels accessible.
Not later than September 30, 2016, the Government Accountability Office shall submit to Congress a report including recommendations about how best to reduce the barriers experienced by blind and visually-impaired individuals to independently accessing information on prescription drug container labels.
Twenty-first Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act
ACB's advocacy was successful in the passage of the "Twenty-first Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act" (CVAA). ACB's efforts are now focused on the issuance of final rules by the FCC to successfully implement the CVAA.
Final Rules mandating video description of television programming have been issued. Beginning on July 1, 2012, the top five broadcast channels and the top five cable channels were required to provide approximately 4 hours a week of described television programs. For further information about the requirements and how to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, see Filing a Video Description Complaint with the FCC.
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010
Another measure of the success of ACB's advocacy efforts is the passage of the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2010." This legislation awaits action on implementation by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
As of September 2012, we expect the rules to be issued by DOT at any time.
Our Current Advocacy Efforts
ACB has successfully added 305 cosponsors for H.R. 860, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to promote charitable donations of qualified vehicles.
Check out the Washington Connection to keep up with ACB's advocacy efforts and other developments from the Nation’s Capital.