by Melanie Brunson, Acting Executive Director
By the time you read this, the members of Congress will have returned to Washington to take up where they left off prior to their December recess, President Bush will have delivered his State of the Union address for 2004, and the U.S. Supreme Court will have heard oral arguments in a historic case, in which the state of Tennessee will challenge the authority of Congress to impose penalties on states that discriminate against people with disabilities by denying them access to public buildings. In addition, the process of identifying who will be the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in 2004 will be in full swing. As we look across the political landscape for the year ahead, it becomes apparent that the activities of all three branches of the federal government could have far-reaching consequences for people who are blind and visually impaired. These will, in turn, impact decisions made in our states, cities and neighborhoods for years to come. Whether this situation is seen as positive or negative will, I believe, depend upon our ability to exercise greater influence on our legislators and policymakers, thereby making a contribution to the design of our political landscape, rather than simply reacting to its current design.
My challenge to you, in 2004, is to become a landscape artist, and to make a concerted effort to draw up and implement plans for a re-design of the American political landscape that is accepting of people who are blind and visually impaired and is free of barriers to their participation in all facets of society. It may take some time, and most definitely will take some serious hard work, but I believe we can and must devote more of our resources to this project. I know that ACB has many talented members who have never thought about the possibility of applying their skill and imagination to impacting the political scene. If you are one of those people, I hope this will be the year when you will both think about that possibility, and act on it.
Here are a few of the reasons why I think this is so important. First, the members of Congress have a lot of unfinished business to deal with when they return to Washington at the end of January. Members of the Senate must act on the reauthorization of IDEA, and members of both houses will most certainly have to work out their differences regarding how special education should be provided in this country. As they do so, they will be hearing from state governors, school administrators, school boards, school teachers. Will they hear from students whose education will be affected by what the school boards, school administrators and teachers decide? Will they hear from parents whose children’s future is at stake? Will they hear from concerned individuals who know, through their experience as people with visual impairments, what can happen to children who do not receive quality education? They should hear from these people, and that includes many of you who read this article. You can explain why it is important to get textbooks on time and what happened to you when you didn’t. You can describe the difficulties incurred as an adult who never learned to read braille adequately. You can demonstrate that poor training in blindness skills can adversely impact an adult’s ability to find meaningful employment or community participation. Those of us who work in Washington can cite statistics and research papers, but you, their constituents, can provide a name, a face, and a vote that a member of Congress can relate to when considering these questions.
We in ACB worked hard to convince the Federal Communications Commission to require TV networks to provide audio description of prime-time programming and we were successful. However, the FCC’s rule was overturned by a federal court, on the ground that Congress had not given the FCC the authority to impose such a requirement. Last year, ACB worked with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to insert language granting the FCC the authority to require audio description on prime-time TV programs into the legislation authorizing the FCC’s funding. To date, we have not found a House member to sponsor similar legislation, and the Senate has not yet acted on its bill. So, who will determine whether we have audio description on TV programs? Will it be the networks, who will most assuredly make their views known to members of Congress? Will it be the Motion Picture Association of America, who brought the suit that scuttled the FCC’s rule? Or will it be the people who have benefitted from the audio description that was provided under that rule and is now either very limited, or in danger of disappearing altogether — in short, you?
I could cite a number of other examples that would illustrate the serious issues on the public policy agenda during the year ahead, but in the interest of space, I will stop here. I think you get my point. During the year ahead, we can expect efforts, both within our states and on the national level, to roll back services, redefine civil rights, and recast priorities, all of which could have disastrous consequences for people with disabilities. Some of the motivation is financial, but I believe that a large part of the motivation is a false assumption that we are not important to the political process.
Therefore, our job for this year is to make ourselves important to that political process. Now, more than ever, we need to become involved in choosing our elected representatives and shaping the kinds of information and experiences that influence their thinking. We need to be sure that they know the blind or visually impaired people who live in their district or state. We need to be certain they are aware of the issues of concern to those people. In short, we need to begin to take seriously our role as designers of the political landscape, because it is our political landscape, and we have as much right and as much ability to impact it as anyone else does.
ACB can help you take on, or refine, your role as a political landscape artist. Once again, we are planning a legislative seminar. It will take place from March 21 through 23, 2004. It is our intent during this year’s seminar to give you tools you can take home with you and apply to political situations you want to influence in your own communities, cities and states. Both those who are new to legislative advocacy and experienced politicos should find something that will pique their interest. As usual, we will spend the final day on Capitol Hill, where you will be able either to establish new contacts or renew previous ones. In either case, I encourage you to give serious consideration to attending this year’s seminar. The issues discussed earlier in this article are among those likely to be on the agenda. I will have more detailed information about that agenda in the weeks to come, but you can be certain that it will be filled with issues of importance to you.
Please contact your affiliate president or the ACB national office and find out how to make your reservation for this year’s legislative seminar. We need everyone we can get to help us design our political landscape.