A5446

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — APPENDIX July 18

 

A Bill To Amend the Act To Promote the
Education of the Blind

 

EXTENSION OF REMARKS
oF

HON. JOHN E. FOGARTY

OF RHODE ISLAND
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

. Tuesday, July 18, 1961

Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. Speaker, I am
today introducing a bill to amend the act
to promote the education of the blind,
approved March 3, 1879, as amended, so
as to authorize wider distribution of
books and other special instruction ma-
terials for the blind, and to increase the
appropriations authorized for this pur-
pose, and to otherwise improve such act.

The. distinguished gentleman from
Kentucky, the Honorable Frank BuRKE,
is also introducing an identical bill today.

Earlier in this session of the Con-
gress, both Mr. Burxe and I introduced
similar bills, H.R. 39 and H.R. 5872, de~
signed to improve this 82-year-old pro-
gram under which. the American Print-
ing House for the Blind receives an an-
nual appropriation through the Depart-
1961

ment of Health, Education, and Welfare
in order to provide books in braille and
large type, as well as tactual educational
aids, for the instruction of blind schooil-
children. Although this federally f-
nanced program.is small in terms of the
numbers of children served and the an-
nual dollar. cost, it nevertheless remains
one of vital significance to the Nation.
For it is with the aid of these speciai
tecis provided by the Federal Govern-
ment that blind children are enabled to
receive an education through high school
and go on to make their way in life,
some with college training for a profes-
sion and others with vocational training
for a trade, to become self-supporting,
contributing citizens in their homme com-
munities.

Over the years, there has been a grow~
ing trend toward the education of blind
children in regular local schools in their
home communities with sighted children
from their own neighborhoods instead of
in special residential schools for blind
children only. At present, slightly more
than half of the almost 16,000 blind
children in the country are being edu-
cated in their local schools. In addition,
we have been experiencing a sharp in-
crease in the number of blind children
in our schools in recent years as those
blinded by retrolental fibroplasia over
the past 10 years have reached school
age. I am happy to say that the cause
and prevention of this blinding eye dis-
ease in premature bables—tco much
oxygen in incubators—has been deter-
mined through the research effort of the
National Institutes of Health. However,
we will not reach peak school enroll-
ment for these children for approxi-
mately another 5 years; and we shall
still- have to contend with an increase
in the numbers of blind children—for-
tunately a slower rate of increase—as
our total population grows.

Thus, we have two problems to contend
with and to solve simultaneously. We
must develop an effective mechanism of
distributing these federally provided
books and educational aids, so that blind
children being educated in local schools
in their home communities and in the
smaller residential schools for the blind
will not be handicapped by lack of ade-
quate aids. And we must increase the
annual dollar appropriation to meet the
increased cost occasioned by the sharp
growth in the numbers of blind children.

The original act of 1879, even with its
most recent amendments in 1956, does
not solve these problems... First, the
method of distributing aids and books
was devised when all blind children who
got a formal education attended resi-
dential schools for the blind; and it has
not been changed to meet current needs.
Second, the authorization of appropria-
tions is limited to $400,000 annually, an
amount woefully inadequate for present
and readily foreseeable needs.

The two bills mentioned previously,
which Mr. Burke and I introduced
earlier in the session, attempted to meet
the needs of the program in different
ways. The groups and individuals most
concerned about improvements in the
program took stands in favor of one bill
or the other and gave the impression in

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — APPENDIX

their letters to the Congress of a deep-
seated controversy among them. .

Inasmuch as the groups concerned are
sincerely interested in improving the
program, despite differences in approach,
we have urged them to resolve their dif-
ferences. They have responded to this
request and have come forward with a
two-step plan as follows: First, introduc-~
tion and, hopefully, enactment before
the end of the session without hearings
or with brief ones of a bill to provide for
a much-needed increase in the author-~
ization of appropriations; and second,
development in the fall of legislation to
improve the system of distributing books
and other aids for consideration by the
Congress next session.

The identical bills Mr. Burke and I
are introducing today would implement
the first step and make a few additional
desirable. and agreed-upon changes,
These bills would do the following: .

First. Increase the authorization of
appropriations by removing the statutory
ceiling, thus leaving the annual appro-
priation to normal budgetary and appro-
priations procedures.

Second. Authorize the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare to make
rules and regulations governing the ad-
Ministration of the program.

Third. Make a technical correction in
the present law, which, if literally con-
strued, would limit expenditures to $10,-
008 annually regardless of the amount of
the appropriation.

Fourth. Authorize the American Print-
ing House for the Blind to use reasonable
sums from the annual appropriation for
the salaries and expenses of staff and
other experts to assist special commit-
tees which may be appointed and for the
expenses of such committees,

Fifth. Expand the ex officio board of
trustees of the Printing House to include
chief State school officers or their des-
ignees, thus formally bringing into this
program officials of public school pro-
grams to join. the superintendents of
residential schools for the blind.

Sixth. Make these amendments effec-
tive immediately upon enactment, se
that the much-needed increase in appro-
priation can be sought for the current
fiscal year through a supplemental ap-
propriation.

IT sincerely hope that the Committee on
Education and Labor and the. entire
House of Representatives will act on
these bills as. quickly as is feasible, so
that congressional action can be com-
pleted before the end of the current ses-
sion. As I indicated before, all of the
interested groups are in favor of this
legislation.

Similarly, I hope that the Committee
on Education and Labor will give its con-
sideration early in the 2d session of this
Congress to another bill which I shall
introduce next January to improve the
method of distributing books and tactual
educational aids for blind children under
this same program. By means of this
two-step approach we can assure all
blind children wherever they may be
educated of the educational aids they
need to achieve their maximum poten-
tial as contributing members of our
society: