Letters, statements, etc.-Continued Staggers, Representative Harley O., Second District, West Virginia.. Tatum, Braxton, chairman of legislative committee, Talladega County Association of the Blind, and member of the State board of directors, Alabama Federation of the Blind----- Taylor, William, Jr., chairman, legislative committee, Pennsylvania Thompson, Asher, State Commission for the Blind, Lubbock, Tex.. 341 Appendix 1. Eleventh annual report of West Virginia Society for the Blind and Severely Disabled, July 1, 1956, to June 30, Morse, Bradford, Deputy Administrator_ VA programs and activities concerning blinded veterans. Weiss, Carl, president, Blind Professional Association of America, Appendix 2. Community Foundation for the Blind, Wheeling, W. Va., E. McKee, secretary, re amend section 2, article 11, of Whitten, E. B., executive director of the National Rehabilitation Widnall, Representative William B., New Jersey, in support of H.R. 238 Wright, Hon. James, of Texas, in support of H.R. 14, and similar bills Zablocki, Hon. Clement J., of Wisconsin, on legislation pertaining to STATISTICAL INFORMATION American Association of Workers for the Blind, Inc.: Statement of income and expenses, July 1, 1947-June 30, 1958----- Summary of cash transactions, July 1, 1957-June 30, 1958- 259 Statement of cash accountability, January 1, 1957 to December 31, 224 Statement, cash accountability, January 1, 1958, to December 31, 227 Statement of cash receipts and disbursements for year ended Decem- 224 Statement of cash receipts and disbursements for year ended Decem- 228 Statement of operations and analysis of surplus for year ended June 325 EDUCATION AND ASSISTANCE TO THE BLIND MONDAY, MARCH 9, 1959 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPECIAL EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, in room 429, House Office Building, at 10 a.m., Hon. Carl Elliott (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Elliott, Daniels, Giaimo, and Wainwright. Also present: Mary P. Allen, subcommittee clerk, and Charles Backstrom, research assistant to subcommittee. Mr. ELLIOTT. The subcommittee will be in order. Sixty-nine bills, all told, have been referred to the Subcommittee on Special Education which pertain in one way or another to the blind. The bills are primarily of four types. As an example, H.R. 14, by Mr. Baring, is a bill to protect the right of the blind to selfexpression through organizations of the blind. Another example is H.R. 1855, by Mr. Matthews, of Florida, which is a bill to establish a temporary National Advisory Committee for the Blind. Then 67 other bills similar to those two categories are before the committee. We had announced that the hearings would be held on these bills today, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We will attempt to carry out that schedule. We have problems of space here, as you perhaps have back home, as you carry on your duties and work responsibilities, so I am not certain at this time where we will be able to meet tomorrow. But if we do not announce by the end of these hearings a place for meeting tomorrow, and if you do not get any other word, the meeting will be held in my office. We will proceed from there. These hearings must go forward this week if possible. Today we are favored by having with us Mr. Walter Baring, of the State of Nevada, who introduced one of the bills. Mr. Baring, the committee will hear your statement at this time. STATEMENT OF HON. WALTER S. BARING, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEVADA; ACCOMPANIED BY GEORGE H. SEWARD, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Mr. BARING. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to appear before your committee. This is a very important piece of legislation. I am suffering from a very bad case of laryngitis. I have brought my administrative assistant, Mr. George Seward, who will give my statement to the committee. Mr. ELLIOTT. Thank you, Mr. Baring. I want to say, before we hear Mr. Seward, that no one knows any more than I do of the interest that you have had in this legislation pertaining to the blind and the problems of the blind over the period of the past several years. Yours, as I have indicated, is one of the leading bills on the subject. Since you do have laryngitis, we will proceed to hear Mr. Seward. Mr. SEWARD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, before proceeding with Congressman Baring's prepared statement, since the bill is very brief, I would like to read the bill into the record, if I may. Mr. ELLIOTT. You may do so at this point, without objection. H.R. 14 A BILL To protect the right of the blind to self-expression through organizations of the blind Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in the formulation, administration, and execution of programs for the aid and rehabilitation of the blind, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall to the fullest extent practicable consult and advise with authorized representatives of organizations of the blind; and shall, in developing and recommending policies and procedures to State agencies, take such steps as may be appropriate to encourage such agencies to consult with authorized representatives of organizations of the blind in the formulation, administration, and execution of any State program for the aid and rehabilitation of the blind to which Federal funds are contributed. SEC. 2. No officer or employee of any Federal, State, or other agency concerned with the administration of any program for the aid or rehabilitation of the blind to which Federal funds have been contributed shall exert the influence of his office or position against the right of the blind to join organizations of the blind. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall adopt such regulations and shall condition Federal grants to State or other programs for the blind on such terms as will prevent the exertion of any such influence against self-expression of the blind through organizations of the blind. Now, Mr. Chairman, if I may, I will read Congressman Baring's prepared statement. Mr. ELLIOTT. Before you proceed, Mr. Seward, let me say that, for the purposes of the record, immediately following the reading of H.R. 14, there shall be included copies of the bill H.R. 1855, by Mr. Matthews, of Florida; H.R. 356, by myself; and bill H.R. 5243, by Mr. Fogarty, of Rhode Island. (The bills referred to are as follows:) [H.R. 14, 86th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To protect the right of the blind to self-expression through organizations of the blind Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in the formulation, administration, and execution of programs for the aid and rehabilitation of the blind, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall to the fullest extent practicable consult and advise with authorized representatives of organizations of the blind; and shall, in developing and recommending policies and procedures to State agencies, take such steps as may be appropriate to encourage such agencies to consult with authorized representatives of organizations of the blind in the formulation, administration, and execution of any State program for the aid and rehabilitation of the blind to which Federal funds are contributed. SEC. 2. No officer or employee of any Federal, State, or other agency concerned with the administration of any program for the aid or rehabilitation of the blind to which Federal funds have been contributed shall exert the influence of his office or position against the right of the blind to join organizations of the blind. The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall adopt such regulations and shall condition Federal grants to State or other programs for the blind on such terms as will prevent the exertion of any such influence against self-expression of the blind through organizations of the blind. [H.R. 1855, 86th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL For the establishment of a temporary National Advisory Committee for the Blind Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TEMPORARY NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR THE BLIND SECTION 1. There is hereby established a National Advisory Committee for the Blind (in this Act referred to as the "Committee"). The Committee shall investigate and study the entire field of existing Federal, State, and local activities related to the granting of services to the blind, including the history and development of such activity. The Committee shall report to the President and to the Congress, within twenty-four months after passage of this Act, the results of such investigation and study, together with recommendations (1) for accomplishing greater coordination of and more effective results from such activities, (2) for the attainment of maximum benefits for the blind, and (3) with respect to such other matters as the Committee may deem appropriate. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE SEC. 2. (a) The Committee shall be composed of nine members, who shall be conversant with work for the blind, to be appointed by the President as follows: (1) One individual from the executive branch of the Federal Government; (2) One individual from the Senate of the United States; (3) One individual from the House of Representatives of the United States; (4) One individual from among officers and employees of the State Governments; (5) One individual from a national association of professional workers with the blind; (6) One individual from a national organization of the blind; (7) One individual from a national research organization for the blind; (8) One individual from the field of education of the blind; and (9) One individual from the public at large. (c) Any vacancy in the Committee shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. ORGANIZATION OF THE COMMITTEE SEC. 3. The Committee shall elect a Chairman from among its members. QUORUM SEC. 4. Five members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE SEC. 5. (a) Each member of the Committee who is an officer or employee of the United States shall serve without compensation in addition to that received for his services as an officer or employee of the United States, but he shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by him in the performance of the duties vested in him by the Committee. (b) Each member of the Committee who is not an officer or employee of the United States shall receive $25 per diem when engaged in the performance of duties vested in the Committee, plus reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by him in the performance of his duties. |