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EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

UNIVt

JUL 2 19 62

H.R. 11523

A BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE EMPLOYMENT WITHOUT COMPENSATION FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF READERS FOR BLIND

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

MAY 24, 1962

Printed for the use of the

Committee on Post Office and Civil Service

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

84534 WASHINGTON: 1962
" • I

COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE

TOM MURRAY,

JAMES H. MORRISON, Louisiana

JAMES C. DAVIS, Georgia

KATHRYN E. GRANAHAN, Pennsylvania

THADDEUS J. DULSKI, New York

DAVID N. HENDERSON, North Carolina

ARNOLD OLSEN, Montana

JOSEPH P. ADDABBO, New York

RICHARD H. ICHORD, Missouri

CATHERINE D. NORRELL, Arkansas

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey

LINDLEY BECKWORTH, Texas

WALTER H. MOELLER, Ohio

Tennessee, Chairman

ROBERT J. CORI3ETT, Pennsylvania

H. R. GROSS, Iowa

JOEL T. BROYHILL, Virginia

AUGUST E. JOHANSEN, Michigan

GLENN CUNNINGHAM, Nebraska

GEORGE M. WALLHAUSER, New Jersey

ROBERT R. BARRY, New York

KATHERINE ST. GEORGE, New York

JOHN H. ROUSSELOT, California

EDWARD J. DERWINSKI, Elinois

ROBERT F. ELLSWORTH, Kansas

SUBCOMMITTEE APPOINTED To CONSIDER H.R. 11523

JOSEPH P. ADDABBO, New York, Chairman

MORRIS K. UDALL, Arizona ROBERT J. CORBETT, Pennsylvania

DOMINICK V. DANIELS, New Jersey JOEL T. BROYHILL, Virginia

11
o

arftso.

A. 2 '1'; 62.

CONTENTS

Statement of— Page

Gillispie, George M., executive director, Blinded Veterans Association._ 16

Keane, George E., chairman, legislative committee, American Association of Workers of the Blind 16

Krause, David, second vice president, American Council of the Blind_ 20

Maas, Maj. Gen. Melvin J., Chairman, President's Committee on

Employment of the Physically Handicapped, accompanied by K.

Vernon Banta, Deputy Executive Secretary 6

Macy, Hon. John W. Jr., Chairman, Civil Service Commission,

accompanied by Dr. Melvin T. Johnson, Deputy Medical Director_ 8

Nagle, John F., chief, Washington office, National Federation of the

Blind 18

Schloss, Irvin P., legislative analyst, American Foundation for the

Blind, Inc., and also representing American Association of Instructors of the Blind and American Association of Workers for the

Blind 12

111

EMPLOYMENT WITHOUT COMPENSATION FROM THE

GOVERNMENT OF READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1962

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9 a.m., in room 215,

House Office Building, Hon. Joseph P. Addabbo (chairman of the

subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. ADDABBO. The subcommittee will come to order.

This subcommittee, consisting of Mr. Udall, Mr. Daniels, Mr.

Corbett, Mr. Broyhill, and myself as chairman, is meeting this morning to consider H.R. 11523, introduced by Mr. Corbett, the distinguished ranking minority member of our full committee.

H.R. 11523 would authorize employment without compensation by

the Federal Government of readers for blind Federal employees. The

readers so employed, if not serving on a volunteer basis, could be paid

out of the personal funds of the blind employee or by any nonprofit

organization.

We have received the required administration reports on this measure, all of which are favorable, and, without objection, they will be

made a part of the record.

(H.R. 11523 and the reports referred to follow:)

[H.R. 11523, 87th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To authorize the employment without compensation from the Government of readers for blind

Government employees, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of

America in Congress assembled, That (a) the head of each department is authorized,

in his discretion, to employ, without regard to the civil service laws and the

Classification Act of 1949, as amended, a reading assistant or assistants for any

blind employee of such department, to serve without compensation from such

department.

(b) Each such reading assistant may be paid and receive compensation for his

services as reading assistant by and from such blind employee or any nonprofit

organization, without regard to section 1914 of title 18, United States Code.

(c) For the purposes of this Act, the term--

(1) "department" means—

(A) each executive department of the Federal Government;

(B) .each agency or independent establishment in the executive branch

of such Government;

(C) each corporation wholly owned or controlled by such Government;

(D) the General Accounting Office;

(E) the Library of Congress; and

(F) the municipal government of the District of Columbia:

3
2 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

(2) "head of each department", with respect to the municipal government

of the District of Columbia, means the Board of Commissioners of the

District of Columbia;

(3) "blind employee" means an employee of a department who establishes,

to the satisfaction of the appropriate authority of the department concerned

and in accordance with regulations of the head of such department, that he

has an impairment of sight, either permanent or temporary, which is so

severe or disabling that the employment of a reading assistant or assistants

for such employee is necessary or desirable to enable such employee properly

to perform his work; and

(4) "nonprofit organization" means an organization determined by the

Secretary of the Treasury to be an organization described in section 501(c)

of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 which is exempt from taxation under

section 501(a) of such Code.

THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT

OF THE HANDICAPPED,

Washington, D.C., May 8, 1962.

Hon. Tom MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,

House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: As requested in your letter of May 3, I am pleased to

review the draft bill H.R. 11523 and to comment on the proposed legislation and

its purpose.

It is my firm opinion that the proposed legislation is needed and would accomplish the purpose of enabling blind persons qualified by special education or training but with little or no practical experience to make a start in employment in the

Federal classified service.

In the several years since this committee was formed numerous cases of blind

persons have been brought to our attention for advice concerning obtaining employment in professional occupations in the Federal classified service. Civil

service examinations in the junior management and professional classifications

have generally been opened to them and many have qualified for places on the

civil service register. The vast majority have been young persons, recently out

of college, with degrees in education, law, engineering, social work, management,

economics, and other professional fields. When considered for appointment, responses of agency personnel and other management officers of Government have

consistently been that the reading requirements of the positions would preclude

their appointment even though highly qualified in other respects. It is probable

that many other blind persons with a good potential for Government service

would take preparatory courses fitting them for such employment if the possibilities of appointment were more promising.

In reviewing existing Civil Service Commission regulations, laws enacted by

the Congress, and the policies and practices of Federal administrators, we have

found little encouragement for appointment due to the reading requirements

particularly in the lower grades. In the higher grades the reading function may

and usually is performed by a secretary assigned to the employee. In the beginning grades secretarial services, if provided at all, are on a shared basis with

several other employees of similar classifications.

It has been the consistent policy of this Committee since its early history to

recommend the employment of all handicapped workers on the basis of their

ability to successfully compete with other job applicants with similar qualifications

but who are not handicapped. It is my firm opinion that the blind job applicant

would be able in most circumstances to compete—without additional cost to the

Government—if he were permitted to provide his own reading service. The draft

legislation would make this possible for the beginning stages of employment or

until the workers were established in a position grade that normally would include

secretarial service for all incumbents.

The blind are a fair cross section of native abilities, intelligence, and potential

capacities. Many could be successfully rehabilitated and established in professional and other highly qualified occupational fields if opportunity for competing

with the seeing population were provided in the periods in their working life where

dependence upon seeing persons for reading is necessary. It is my firm opinion

that providing a statutory basis for provision for this function would make it

possible for many to be employed who are now being rejected.

Probably some encouragement of the employing agencies will be needed but

we believe with statutory approval through permissive legislation this Committee
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 3

and the appropriate divisions of the U.S. Civil Service Commission are in a much

stronger position to provide for that need.

With the Federal Government taking the lead in making it possible for these provessional and other job applicants needing reading service to "break into"

Government employment, many State departments and local governmental units will be encouraged to take similar action.

I strongly recommend approval of this legislation.

Cordially,

MELVIN J. MAAS, Chairman.

U.S. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION,

Washington, D.C., May 16, 1962.

Hon. TOM MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,

House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your letter of May 2, 1962, requesting our comments on H.R. 11523, a bill to authorize the employment

without compensation from the Government of readers for blind Government

employees

'

and for other purposes.

H.R. 11523 would authorize the head of each department and agency of the executive branch of the Government, each corporation wholly owned or controlled by the Government, the General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, to employ

reading assistants for blind employees. Such reading assistants would be employed without regard to the civil service laws and the Classification Act, and

would serve without compensation from the employing department or agency.

The reading assistant could be paid by the blind employee or any nonprofit or- ganization.

The Commission favors enactment of this bill.

We believe enactment of this legislation should increase employment opportunities for the blind. It should, in turn, be of benefit to the Government by

enabling it to use the services of personnel who could not otherwise be employed.

At the same time, by making the reading assistants subject to appointment at

the discretion of the department or agency head, and by limiting the source of

their compensation to the blind employee or a nonprofit organization, it should

protect the Government from possible abuses. The reading assistant would be

subject to Government control and supervision, and would be subject to any

necessary security clearances.

It should be recognized, however, that employment of reading assistants under

this proposed authority could give rise to some potentially troublesome problems.

A complex relationship is established among the agency, the blind employee, the reading assistant, and the source of the reading assistant's pay. Question may

arise as to what extent the agency is obliged to replace a reading assistant who

has left (voluntarily or at the agency's request). If a reading assistant is acceptable to the blind employee but not to the agency, and another is not available, can

the blind employee be removed for inability to perform? If a reading assistant is

acceptable to the agency, but not to the blind employee must the reading assistant

be discharged by the agency? The possibility of problems such as these must,

perhaps, be accepted in order to obtain the advantages offered by the bill.

While subsection (a) of the bill would except reading assistants from the Civil

Service Act and the Classification Act, it would not necessarily exclude them from

coverage for certain purposes under the Veterans' Preference Act, the Performance

Rating Act of 1950, or other laws applying to Federal employees. If, for example,

a reading assistant were given a permanent appointment without compensation,

he would have appeal rights under section 14 of the Veterans' Preference Act.

The reading assistant appointed under this proposed authority would apparently meet the usual tests of Federal employment. He would be:

(1) engaged in the performance of Federal functions under authority of

an act of Congress or an Executive order;

(2) appointed or employed by a Federal officer in his official capacity as

such; and

(3) under the supervision and direction of a Federal officer.

Presuming his appointment paper would carry the legend "without compensation," this circumstance would exclude him from current retirement, life insurance,

and health benefits coverage. If the reading assistant serves on a full-time or

substantially full-time basis, this service will become creditable for retirement

purposes if he later becomes eligible for retirement coverage in a salaried position.
4 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

You requested that in addition to making the usual kind of report on the bill,

we furnish certain information about the present employment of readers.

We have no information as to the number of readers for the blind now employed

by the Government. Actually, we have no data on the number of blind persons

now occupying Federal positions. We believe that a considerable number of

readers would be appointed under this bill but we cannot hazard a guess as to the

number.

Secretaries of blind employees at the higher grades frequently serve as readers.

Occasionally, employees from stenographic pools serve as readers, from time to

time, for blind employees at lower grades. We do not know how many employees

there are serving as readers in this manner.

It would appear that the legislation would result in only minor additional cost

to the Government. The salaries of the readers are not to be paid by the employing departments. Some minor additional administrative expenses can be

expected.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the administration's program there is no objection to the submission of this report.

By direction of the Commission:

Sincerely yours,

JOHN W. MACY, Jr., Chairman.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,

BUREAU OF THE BUDGET,

Washington, D.C., May 16, 1962.

Hon. Tom MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,

House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to the committee's request for the

views of the Bureau of the Budget respecting H.R. 11523, a bill "To authorize

the employment without compensation from the Government of readers for blind

Government employees, and for other purposes."

The bill would authorize employment, without compensation by the Government, of readers for blind employees, such readers to be paid out of personal

funds of the blind employee or by any nonprofit organization.

In a report which the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission is submitting

to your committee on this bill, favoring its enactment, he states that there is no

available information on the number of blind persons occupying Federal positions

or on the number of readers to the blind now employed by the Government. The

Chairman also notes that employment of reading assistants under the bill can

result in complex problems of relationship as among the employing agency, the

blind employee, and the reading assistant.

Inasmuch as there is no previous experience in Federal service with the type of

employment here proposed, the Bureau of the Budget regards the proposal as

somewhat experimental, and assumes that resulting experience would be evaluated

after passage of reasonable time following enactment.

There would be no objection from the standpoint of the administration's

program to enactment of the subject bill.

Sincerely yours,

PHILLIP S. HUGHES,

Assistant Director for Legislative Reference.

COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES,

Washington, May 14, 1962.

Hon. Tom MURRAY,

Chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service,

House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of May 3, 1962, acknowledged May 7,

requests our report upon H.R. 11523 which would authorize the employment on

a without-compensation basis of reading assistants for blind employees of the

Government. Also, the bill would authorize reading assistants to receive compensation for their services from the blind employee himself or any nonprofit

organization as defined in the bill.
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 5

We have no information concerning the extent of the need for enactment of the

bill but there is one feature of the bill which might impose a burden on the Government that may not be intended. For instance, a blind employee might be

employed with the understanding he is to provide a reader. After the blind

employee acquires civil service status his reader may resign. The Government

then might be required to provide a reading assistant. That situation could be

avoided if the bill were to provide that the employment of a blind employee

may be made contingent upon his providing a competent reading assistant.

Otherwise, the bill appears adequate to accomplish its intended purpose.

Sincerely yours,

FRANK H. WEITZEL,

Deputy Comptroller General of the United States.

Mr. ADDABBO. Before proceeding with the hearing, I do want to

beg the indulgence of the members of the subcommittee and our

witnesses for scheduling this hearing at such an unusually early hour.

I hasten to assure my colleagues that I will be the first to disclaim

this action as any precedent for the future. Our full committee is

holding hearings three mornings each week at 10 o'clock on salary

legislation and if we are to secure action on some of the bills pending

in subcommittees, it becomes necessary to schedule hearings at times

such as this that are not altogether convenient.

Since we must vacate the hearing room this morning at 10 o'clock,

at which time the full committee will meet and this morning's witnesses will be assembling, I ask the further indulgence of our witnesses to keep their testimony as brief as possible.

I am anxious that we be given an opportunity to hear all the

witnesses and then convene into executive session before the beginning

of the full committee hearing.

I apologize for several of our members not being here but they have

other commitments and should join us shortly.

Our first witness will be the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania, the ranking minority member, Mr. Corbett, who sponsored

H.R. 11523.

Mr. CORBETT. Mr. Chairman, even if our other colleagues were

here, I think it is true that the witnesses honoring this committee

with their presence this morning are much more distinguished than

our absent colleagues or those of us who are present.

I would join with you in the fact that having a meeting this early in

the morning is certainly a bit inconvenient for a great many people

but I have been assured by Mr. Udall that he will be here and Mr.

Broyhill will be here. I have not talked to Mr. Daniels.

The purposes of this bill are quite simple. It authorizes the head

of each department of the Government to employ, without regard to

the civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1949, a reading

assistant or assistants for any blind employee of such department who

will serve without compensation from the Government.

Second, it will make it possible for these reading assistants to be

paid by the blind employee or by any nonprofit organization.

This latter is accomplished by exempting the reading assistants from

certain provisions of the Criminal Code which prohibits any Federal

employee from receiving a salary from a non-Government source and

which further prohibits any person, corporation, or association from

contributing to, or supplementing the salary of a Federal employee.

84534-62 2
6 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

The bill makes the readers Government employees so they will be

subject to Government control and supervision and subject to any

necessary security clearances.

The purpose of the legislation is to expand employment opportunities with the Federal Government for qualified blind persons. In

effect, it will, for employment purposes with our Government, remove

the obstacle or handicap of blindness for any blind person who is

otherwise found qualified.

The benefits of the legislation will be twofold; fruitful careers in

Federal service will become available and attractive to countless blind

persons who cannot now qualify because of reading requirements, and

our Government, always hard pressed to recruit qualified personnel,

will be able to attract talented people, comprising almost every conceivable type of professional and technical skill.

The legislation, of course, should entail no cost at all to the Government.

Mr. Chairman, by favorably considering this bill we have an excellent opportunity here to put the Federal Government into the lead

in what I consider a most important and most enlightened personnel

action that could encourage local and State governments and private

industry to follow.

Thank you.

Mr. ADDABBO. I wish to compliment you, Mr. Corbett, on the

foresight in introducing this legislation.

I say that this legislation is just as far reaching as our second orbital

flight which, so far, according to all reports, is favorable. We do

now have Mr. Carpenter in orbit.

Our first witness is Maj. Gen. Melvin J. Maas, who certainly needs

no introduction here in Congress. He served in the House of Representatives for 16 years and has a distinguished record of service here

surpassed only by his service to the country in the two World Wars.

He is now serving his country again as Chairman of the President's

Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped.

We deeply appreciate your being with us this morning, General

Maas, and, recognizing the fact that you have other commitments

and you must leave early, the subcommittee is pleased to call on you

now.

STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. MELVIN J. MAAS, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT OF THE PHYSICALLY

HANDICAPPED, ACCOMPANIED BY B. VERNON BANTA, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Mr. MAAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I shall be very brief.

Mr. Corbett stated the case so completely it takes very little more.

I just want to explain the interest of the President's Committee.

We are, of course, interested in employment for all the handicapped.

Our Government does more for the blind than they do for any other

nriinority group in this country, and certainly than for any other

handicapped group, except for helping them get jobs.

That Is the one thing they want above all else. Training and prosthetic devices are marvelous and we have no complaints. The President's Committee is interested because our main job is to sell industry

and private business but we run into a stone wall of business and other
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 7

interests saying, "Why should we hire the blind? The Government

will not do it.'

Unless the Government sets a pattern by opening the way, we are

meeting unreasonable resistance in private industry. The Civil Service Commission has cooperated 1,000 percent and they have opened

up their examinations so that the blind can take almost any examination now. We have many young men under vocational training,

many of them veterans, who have gotten an education. They are

lawyers and they have become highly skilled technicians as well, such

as operators of IBM machines and other data processing machines.

Some are professional men but they simply cannot get a break in the

Government because they have to start at a grade that is too low for

them to be furnished with a secretary and this would correct that

situation. It would permit these highly qualified selective young

men and women to enter the Government without cost to the Government for reader service until such time as they became eligible in the

normal course of promotion to where they would have a secretary or

share a secretary who could do the essential reading.

Their brains are not affected, Mr. Chairman. They are unusually

keen and intelligent people. The very fact that they are blind and

they have overcome the handicap in going to college shows that.

They have to do this under great difficulty and our experience in a

few cases shows where they have been able to get into the Federal

Government they have been outstanding.

I just want to close with one illustration.

We had a highly qualified, educated young man with post-graduate

training who could not get a professional job in the Government. He

finally got a job in the Veterans' Administration as a dictaphone

transcriber. Of course that was way below his qualifications and

his ability but later, through tremendous effort, he was transferred

to another agency where he is doing script work and is making such

an outstanding success that his present Government chief wrote to

the head of the Veterans' Administration thanking him for having

made him available to them and having put them in touch with him.

This is typical of the few who have made the break, but if you will

open up the opportunities without cost to the Government to the

qualified blind, we can, for every one you hire, in the President's

Committee open up opportunities for hundreds of qualified blind in

private industry and in business.

Mr. Chairman, I have filed a report with the statement and I

think that is all I wish to say.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Maas, for giving us

your time.

Mr. CORBETT. Mr. Chairman, I would like to say a word.

I first met Mr. Maas when I came to Congress in 1939, if you

remember, Mel?

Mr. MAAS. I remember, Bob.

Mr. CORBETT. I would like the record to show that in all the years

I have known him, I have never known him not to be dedicated to the

service of his fellowman.

Mel, we certainly hope for you a long and useful life.

Mr. MAAS. Thank you, Bob. I appreciate that.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Daniels, do you have any questions?

Mr. DANIELS. No questions.
8 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Maas.

Mr. MAAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ADDABBO. Our next witness is the Honorable John W. Macy,

Jr, Chairman, U.S. Civil Service Commission, accompanied by

Dr. Melvin T. Johnson, Deputy Medical Director.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN W. MACY, JR., CHAIRMAN, U.S. CIVIL

SERVICE COMMISSION, ACCOMPANIED BY DR. MELVIN T.

JOHNSON, DEPUTY MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Mr. MACY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate

this opportunity to appear before you and your colleagues to support

the enactment of H.R. 11523 introduced, as you have indicated, by

the distinguished ranking minority member of the committee committee, Mr. Corbett.

This bill which would authorize the departments and agencies to

employ reading assistants for blind employees would be enabling legislation to facilitate significantly the placing of well-qualified blind

eligibles now on the civil service list.

For many years the Commission has had a program directed at

encouraging agencies to hire persons with serious physical handicaps

where their abilities can be used. Each year several thousand persons

with serious, permanent physical handicaps take their places in the

Government's career civil service through the Commission's selective

placement program.

In its role as a central personnel agency, the Commission has a duty

to see that agencies hire the best qualified peopk in an equitable

manner and without discrimination. It provides the disabled equal

opportunity for Federal employment but cannot provide them special

preference over other applicants. Not only must the physically handicapped be qualified for the particular jobs; they must also compete

with nondisabled applicants.

The Commission ascertains the physical demands of Federal jobs

and what people with physical handicaps can and cannot do. This

information is made available to Government agencies through publication of results of job analyses. The agencies and not the Commission have the responsibility of hiring people who will fit into their

organizations. ,

We try to see that the handicapped are placed in positions where

they can serve efficiently and without undue hazard to themselves or

others, and to see that physical conditions are not used as the basis

of unfair discrimination in connection with any phase of Federal

employment under our jurisdiction.

The Federal Government has a system of coordinators for employment of the handicapped of which it can be proud. This system

which is now in its sixth year provides the handicapped with advocates

at the departmental and field installation level. It removes the

danger that consideration of the handicapped may be "everybody's

business and nobody's business."

Blindness is one of the serious handicaps with which we have been

concerned. From time to time it has been suggested that the Commission, by policy statement or regulation, authorize agencies to

permit blind employees to secure needed assistance without cost

to the employing agency. It was proposed that such assistance
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 9

could be financed by the blind employee himself, by a voluntary

agency, or, for periods of job adjustments when the employee needs

financial help:by State vocational rehabilitation agencies.

The Commission was unable to comply with this suggestion because

of section 665(b) of title 31 of the United States Code, which forbids

officers and employees of the Government to accept voluntary services

for the Government, or to employ personal services in excess of that

authorized by law, except in cases of emergency involving the safety

of human life or the protection of property.

In addition, section 1914 of title 18 of the United States Code provides that no Government employee shall receive any salary in connection with his services as such employee—

from any source other than the Government of the United States, except as may

be contributed out of the treasury of any State, county or municipality; * **

The section penalizes any individual or private organization which

attempts to pay a Federal employee for such work.

The reader in reading to a blind employee would be doing part of

the work of the office, so he would be performing personal services for

the Government. The Comptroller General has held that purely

personal services must be performed by regular employees of the

Government subject to Government control and supervision.

It follows that under existing law, the reader would have to be a

Government employee but could not be paid either by the blind employee or some third party. Neither could a department accept the

services of a reader who simply presents himself and volunteers to do

the reading without compensation.

Therefore, if the Government is to employ readers who are to be

paid by the blind employee or by a third party, legislation is required.

H.R. 11523 will enable departments and agencies to employ readers

without compensation from the department or agency. It will permit

the reader to receive, and the blind employee or a nonprofit organization to provide, compensation for his services.

An alternate approach would have been to authorize the blind employee himself to employ a reader. This is perhaps less desirable,

however, because the employing department would have less control

over the reader. By making the reader an employee of the Department he is subject to Government control and supervision, and would

be subject to any necessary security clearances.

We were asked by your committee to furnish information on the

number of reading assistants currently employed by the Government.

We have no information on this As a matter of fact, we do not know

how many blind persons there are occupying Federal positions. Our

new statistics program should make some data on employment of the

blind available in the future.

I might add that in the new statistics program to go into effect

July 1, there will be an item that identifies the physically handicapped

and then a coded breakdown by 10 numbers which will specify the

types of handicap. So the type of information you seek will be

available in the future.

Secretaries to blind employees at the higher grades frequently

serve as readers. Occasionally, we understand, employees from

stenographic pools serve as readers, from time to time, for blind

employees at lower grades. We do not, however, know the number

of employees who serve as readers in this way.
10 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

We believe that this legislation should be enacted because it will

increase employment opportunities for the blind. It should at the

same time enable the Government to make use of the services of

people who could otherwise not be employed.

It must be recognized, though, that this bill merely eliminates

certain legal obstacles to the employment of reading assistants in

this manner. Only hard work by all concerned can overcome the

practical problems which will be encountered. Employment of a

blind person who is dependent on the services of a reader introduces

problenis for the employing department, not encountered when it

employs a sighted person for the same job. Accomplishment of the

assigned work is dependent upon the presence and performance of

not one person but two. When appointing a blind person with the

understanding that he will need assistance from a reader, departments

will have to give the most careful attention not only to the placement

of the blind person but also to the selection and appointment of a

reading assistant.

As we mentioned in our report to the committee on this bill—and

I might say you wish to incorporate that report dated May 16 in the

record—the employment of reading assistants under this proposed

authority could give rise to some troublesome problems. What

happens to the blind employee if a reading assistant is dismissed by

the agency and another one cannot be found? What happens if a

reading assistant who is acceptable to the agency is unacceptable to

the blind employee?

There are other questions which may arise. The reading assistant

while excluded from the Civil Service Act and the Classification Act

may well be subject to other laws applying to Federal employees.

If, for example, a reading assistant were given a permanent appointment without compensation, he would have appeal rights to the Civil

Service Commission under section 14 of the Veterans' Preference Act

in case his agency removed him or took other adverse action against

him 

If the reading assistant's appointment paper carries the legend

"without compensation" he will be excluded from current retirement,

life insurance, and health benefits coverage. If, however, he serves

on a full-time or substantially full-time basis this service will become

creditable for retirement purposes if he later becomes eligible for retirement coverage in a. salaried position.

I need to make two points clear: We favor enactment of this legislation because it removes legal obstacles to employment of readers for

the blind, but the actual employment of readers in this manner will

not be without its problems.

Much of the success of any operations under this bill will be dependent upon the care and wisdom used in placing the blind employees.

The Federal Government's outstanding success in employing handicapped personnel in recent years encourages me to expect that a good

job will be done. The Commission stands ready to lend assistance to

departments and agencies, within the limits of its capabilities.

I will be happy to answer any questions that you and your colleagues

may have.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Macy, for your statement and time.

Mr. Corbett?
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES NI VEks.,

Mr. CORBETT. Mr. Chairman, T would like to say to M eacy

that his taking the time and trouble to come here this myoting is

very much appreciated because when we come to the time tJng2 19 62 to get this bill finally enacted, I think the fact that he appe ed here

will be one of our chief arguments for it.

T think you, therefore, have made a very real contribution

appreciate it. 41.TAN,

Regarding one of the points you raised, we have a report here from

the Budget Department which states:

* * * Inasmuch as there is no previous experience in Federal service with

the type of employment here proposed, the Bureau of the Budget regards the

proposal as somewhat experimental and assumes that resulting experience would

be evaluated after the passage of reasopa,ble time following the enactment.

Mr. Chairman, just to keep the record straight, I would like to

move that the report of the Civil Service Commission be incorporated

at this point in the record along with the budget statement.

Mr. ADDABBO. Those reports have been inserted in the record.

Mr. DANIELS. Mr. Macy, you say there are no statistics on the

number of blind employees in the Government?

Mr. MACY. No, sir, we do not have census information that would

give us that knowledge. We hope that when we have this new

statistical program, we will be able to give a precise figure.

Mr. DANIELS. Do you have any knowledge as to what departments

they are employed in at the present time?

Mr. MACY. We know that the principal employments are in the

departments where there is a large number of manual jobs. These

have been the types of occupations where most effective placements

have been made, and this means the departments of the military

services, Army, Navy, and Air Force. They have been utilized in the

Veterans' Administration to some extent and in the Post Office.

Mr. DANIELS. In what capacities have they been employed in the

Post Office?

Mr. MACY. They have been used in some of the clerical positions

in the Post Office.

Mr. DANIELS. Mailmen and sorting mail?

Mr. MACY. Clerical functions—handling of office operations.

Mr. DANIELS. What would be the nature of the manual jobs in

the armed services?

Mr. MACY. In the armed services it would be inspection jobs and

in manufacturing establishments. I recall very distinctly going

through the naval ordnance plant outside of Chicago a number of

years ago and seeing the blind inspectors inspecting ball bearings and

other objects coming through using set gages.

Mr. DANIELS. Quite interesting.

Mr. MACY. We have made significant progress and I do not want

to leave the impression that this is a field where we are just initiating

work. Progress has been made but we feel we can make much more

progress with this type of assistance, particularly for those blind persons who have completed higher education and, therefore, are eligible

for positions that require reading as a major function.

General Maas mentioned the young man who went from the

Veterans' Administration to USIA. I recall that case very well

myself. This was a chap who was blinded at Bastogne and came back

and completed his undergraduate education at George Washington

and then went on to Harvard Law School and completed law school.
12 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

He then took the civil service Federal entrance examination and passed

as a blind person with a very high score.

Then the problem was what career entry position with that type

of education could he move into without having reader assistance?

Eventual placement was made where he was able to develop scripts

for the Voice of America by utilizing transcribing equipment. He

was able to listen to other broadcasts recorded on monitoring equipment and from that developed his own script. This was a very unusual

placement.

Dr. Johnson has just given me some statistics that show there were

19 blind eligibles on the Federal service entrance examination last

year. They had completed their college education. We were unable

to place them because in virtually every instance it would require the

assistance of readers.

Mr. DANIELS. Do you know if there is anything in the law of the

Federal Government which would prohibit the employment of blind

persons?

Mr. MACY. No, sir.

Mr. DANIELS. No restrictions under civil service rules and regulations?

Mr. MACY. No, sir. In fact, under the Civil Service Act, we

endeavor to administer an examining system open to all who are

qualified regardless of race, color, creed, handicap, or anything else.

Mr. DANIELS. Have you given any consideration to what this program of employed readers will cost the Government?

Mr. MACY. It would cost the Government no direct expense at

all because under this legislation the readers would be employed

without Federal compensation. They would be paid by the blind

person himself, by a charitable organization, or by a State vocational

agency. The cost to the Government should be minimal only in the

sense of providing office space for the individual.

Mr. DANIELS. Thank you.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you, Mr. Macy.

Mr. MACY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Once again, I hope that the committee will give this legislation

favorable consideration.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, MT. Macy.

Our next witness is Mr. Irvin P. Schloss, legislative analyst, American Foundation for the Blind, Inc., and also representing the American

Association of Instructors of the Blind and American Association of

Workers for the Blind.

STATEMENT OF IRVIN P. SCHLOSS, LEGISLATIVE ANALYST,

AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND, INC., AND ALSO

REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF INSTRUCTORS OF THE BLIND AND AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS FOR THE BLIND

Mr. Scimoss. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I have submitted a written statement for the record. In order to

conserve the time of the committee, I will just point to the highlights, some of which may not have been covered by previous witnesses.

The principal purpose of the legislation is to permit the law and

regulations and procedures to be changed in such a way so that those
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 13

highly qualified blind persons who have taken and passed civil service

examinations can enter the classified service at the lower professional

grades, where they do not ordinarily get clerical or secretarial help.

At present, there are many blind persons employed in the Government. "Many" is perhaps not a good word, but there are certainly

blind persons employed by the Federal Government throughout the

country as well as by the government of the District of Columbia.

They are employed in various types of occupations. There are

highly skilled mechanical workers among them. There are highly

skilled clerical workers, such as medical dictation transcribers in

hospitals as well as hearing reporters.

Among the administrative and professional occupations held by

blind persons now in the Federal Government, there are attorneys,

writers, rehabilitation specialists, social workers, psychologists, and

even computer programers.

For example, there is a budget analyst who has been doing a very

effective job for many years with the Bureau of the Budget, who is

totally blind.

These individuals have all demonstrated they are capable, and they

were hired on the basis of their ability in the first place. They have

been given the opportunity to show that they could be an asset to the

Government as employees.

The principal difficulty, as I said earlier, has been in allowing those

who have just come out of college and have entered Government

service at grades 5, 7, and perhaps 9, to get reading assistance that

they would need in the event their positions required some reading of

essential materials.

I might add, too, that through the use of modern electronic equipment, such as tape recorders and dictation machines, a blind person

can certainly utilize the time of a reading assistant very efficiently

and economically and make the best use of his own time.

In addition, these blind individuals would be able to type and

certainly would use Braille.

I would like to suggest that the committee consider a possible

amendment to the bill itself, or some wording for inclusion in the

report as follows:

Nothing in this act is intended to preclude the assignment of regular clerical

or secretarial assistance to blind employees when such assistance would ordinarily

be provided to employees in such positions, or when, in the judgment of the head

of each department, the furnishing of such assistance would be desirable.

Some of the individuals I talked about earlier, who are presently

employed in professional positions in the Government, were actually

assigned clerical or secretarial assistance on a full- or part-time basis

when they entered Government service and they certainly demonstrated the value of this. It would be advisable, we feel, to make

clear that the intent of H.R. 11523 is not to deprive those blind

employees in the higher grades of secretarial service that their positions

entitle them to, but rather to make it possible for those entering

Government service at the lower grades to utilize reading assistants.

In some instances, certainly those at the higher grades, may make

very good use of this to actually make them even more desirable, more

highly valued Government employees in terms of increasing their

effectiveness.
14 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

There is another important aspect of this legislation which I think

should be considered if it is enacted into law. It could very well

serve as the model for State and local governments to use in eliminating similar barriers to employment in government service at those

levels.

There is no question but that there would be considerable opportunities for well-qualified blind persons at State and local government

service levels.

I included in my written statement a specific example we learned

about earlier this year of a highly qualified individual who happened

to be blind but who was trying to get a job with the Federal Government. To borrow a phrase from today's space launching, everything

was "Go" but the law.

The Veterans' Administration was interested in employing this

individual as a grade 7 claims adjudicator, and they would have permitted him to hire his own reading assistant. Unfortunately, it was

found that the law made this impossible; and the individual did not

get that job as a result.

In conclusion, I would like to urge the committee to take favorable

action on this legislation. It is the culmination of a very thorough

effort to achieve the same results administratively, and it was found

it had to be done by legislative action of the Congress.

Thank you.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Schloss.

Without objection, your prepared statement will be made a part

of the record.

(The statement follows:)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF IRVIN P. SCHLOSS, LEGISLATIVE ANALYST, AMERICAN

FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am pleased to have this

opportunity to present the views of the American Foundation for the Blind on

H.R. 11523. The American Foundation for the Blind is the national voluntary

research and consultant agency in the field of services to blind persons.

• I have also been asked by the American Association of Instructors of the Blind

and the American Association of Workers for the Blind to indicate that I am also

speaking on their behalf in urging your favorable consideration of this bill. Both

organizations are filing written statements for inclusion in the record of these

hearings.

H.R. 11523 has a simple and worthy purpose. It will provide the authority

under which qualified blind persons who have taken and passed appropriate civil

service examinations will be permitted to obtain the services of reading assistants

without cost to the Government. Thus, this bill will open up additional employment opportunities for qualified blind persons in agencies of the Federal

Government and the District of Columbia.

At present, there are highly qualified blind individuals employed in a wide

variety of positions in agencies of the Federal Government throughout the country as well as in agencies of the government of the District of Columbia. Some are

skilled mechanics and "blue collar" workers of various types. Some are clerical

workers, such as medical dictation transcribers in hospitals and hearing reporters.

Others are employed in administrative and professional positions as attorneys,

writers, social workers, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, and computer

programers.

All of these individuals were hired becaue of their ability, because they have

skills needed by the agencies which employ them. They were given the chance

to demonstrate their value as Government employees, and they have proved that

they are an asset to their agencies. Some have even won special citations for

meritorious service or for suggesting improved procedures which have saved the

Government money.
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 15

However, it is very difficult for a qualified blind person to obtain an appointment in the lower professional grades of the classified service, where clerical or secretarial assistance is not usually provided. H.R. 11523 would remove this bar to the employment of well-qualified blind individuals by permitting the head of an agency of the Government to hire as employees without compensation from

the Government reading assistants for blind employees of that agency.

The bill would permit such reading assistants to be paid by the blind employee

or by a nonprofit voluntary agency if the reading assistants were not in a position

to serve on a voluntary basis. Public agencies, such as the State vocational re- habilitation agencies, would be able to pay the cost of a reading assistant for a

blind person for a stated period of time as part of the individual's rehabilitation

program. In any case, reading assistants would be subject to the rules and regu- lations of the agency governing all employees.

At this point, we would like to suggest the desirability of including in the bill itself, or in the report, a sentence similar to the following:

"Nothing in this act is intended to preclude the assignment of clerical or secre- tarial assistance to a blind employee, when such assistance would ordinarily be provided to employees in such positions, or when, in the judgment of the head of each Department, the furnishing of such assistance would be desirable."

The inclusion of such wording would serve to make it clear that the intent of

H.R. 11523 is to remove a barrier to the employment of qualified blind persons at

the lower professional grades, where secretarial assistance is not ordinarily provided and not to deprive blind employees in the higher grades of secretarial as- sistance to which their positions entitle them. Also, in some agencies, blind

employees hired at the lower grades have been assigned regular secretarial as- sistance on a full-time or part-time basis; and some agency heads may prefer to continue doing this.

I should like to point out that the introduction of H.R. 11523 by the Honorable

Robert Corbett, a distinguished member of this committee, is the culmination of approximately 2 years of thorough exploration by the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the

Civil Service Commission, and the American Foundation for the Blind of adminis- trative means of achieving the objective of the bill. It was found that legislation

by the Congress would be required.

An instance of how this bill would have helped a blind person obtain a job for which he was qualified if it had been law at that time came to our attention early

this year. The Veterans' Administration was prepared to hire an attorney who

is blind for a GS-7 position as a claims adjudicator. The VA had agreed to allow this individual to furnish his own reading assistant when the agency's personnel officials discovered that this was not legally possible. Here we had a situation where the law itself proved to be the only obstacle to the employment of a

qualified blind person by a Federal agency which wanted to hire him.

If H.R. 11523 is enacted into law, this type of situation will not be able to

occur, and we believe that other agencies of the Federal Government and the

District of Columbia will be as interested in utilizing the skills of qualified persons who happen to be blind, as was the Veterans' Administration. Furthermore, we believe that H.R. 11523 will serve as a model for State and local governments to use in eliminating a barrier to the employment of blind persons in

government service.

We sincerely hope that this committee will take favorable action on H.R.

11523.

Mr. ADDABBO. I have just one question.

Mr. Scimoss. Surely.

Mr. ADDABBO. Has this principle embodied in the legislation we are

considering this morning been used, to your knowledge, m private

industry at all?

Mr. Scimoss. I believe it has in private industry, yes.

It is not unusual for a blind person hired by private corporations,

if he has the skills considered highly desirable by that corporation,

for the organization to assign him a full-time secretary. He would

also serve as a reader.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you.

Mr. Corbett?
16 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Mr. ScHLoss. It is a question of ability and desirability of the

individual's employer.

Mr. CORBETT. Mr. Schloss, I am considering the amendment you

have suggested. I do not believe that it is absolutely necessary

and vital because the proposed legislation would not affect the current

situation adversely in any way. However, I believe inclusion of the

amendment at the proper place certainly could not do any damage,

and it would be a safeguard and a statement of policy so I can assure

the gentleman I will, at the right time, suggest the inclusion of his

amendment.

Mr. ScHLoss. Thank you, sir.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Daniels?

Mr. DANIELS. No questions.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Schloss.

Mr. ScHLoss. Thank you.

Mr. ADDABBO. The subcommittee has received the following statement which will be inserted at this point in the record.

(The statement referred to follows:)

STATEMENT OF GEORGE E. KEANE, CHAIRMAN, LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE, AMERICAN

ASSOCIATION OF WORKERS FOR THE BLIND

Chairman Addabbo and members of the subcommittee, it is privilege to present

this statement to this distinguished committee for the American Association of

Workers for the Blind, of which I have the honor to serve as chairman of its

legislative committee.

H.R. 11523 which amends the Civil Service Act to make it possible for blind

Government employees to have the essential reading service they need to carry

forward their work by making it lawful for such persons to be considered as

employees without pay is a very thoughtful and humane proposal. Very often

the need for reading service is the only barrier to brilliant and successful employment of a blind person who, except for blindness, may be as competent as anyone

who could be secured to fill the position.

We heartily endorse and have asked Mr. Irvin P. Schloss, legislative analyst

for the American Foundation for the Blind, to allow us to join him in his presentation to you on Thursday, May 24, 1962. We concur wholeheartedly in everything

he is aying to you. May we urge the subcommittee to report favorably to the

Committee on Post Office and Civil Service of the House on this amendment.

Again, thank you for permitting me to present this statement to you and may I

ask that it become a part of the record.

Mr. ADDABBO. Our next witness is Mr. George M. Gillispie, executive director, Blinded Veterans Association.

STATEMENT OF GEORGE M. GILLISPIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION

Mr. GILLISPIE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the

committee.

I have filed a statement which I would like to have made a part

of the record.

Mr. ADDABBO. Without objection, it is so ordered.

(The statement follows:)

PREPARED STATEMENT OF GEORGE M. GILLISPIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BLINDED

VETERANS ASSOCIATION

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, in support of H.R. 11523

"To authorize the employment without compensation from the Government of

readers for blind Government employees, and for other purposes," the Blinded

Veterans Association strongly urges the enactment of this bill.
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 17

• It has always been the policy of the Government of the United States of

America to employ, insofar as is practicable and feasible, the handicapped.

There are many blinded persons today who had outstanding careers prior to the

onset of blindness. The passing of this bill will allow those blinded persons to be

gainfully employed again and of service to their country. There are many

blinded persons who, because of their inability to read, have been unable to

secure positions in keeping with their talents. The provision of a reader will

overcome this obstacle.

This legislation is outstanding in that it will not cost the Government anything. On the contrary, it will bring to the Government, dedicated, conscientious, and capable employees. May I remind members of the committee at

this point that absenteeism and injuries on the job, in the case of blind employees,

have been in the past, and now are, comparatively negligible.

We therefore request that this bill receive favorable consideration by the

committee.

Mr. GILLISPIE. I would like to make a few remarks, possibly along

the line of the points that have not been discussed here today.

I would like to begin by saying that in Government employment

in the mechanical skills, we have moved pretty far along and I will

use a couple of examples.

At Quanta Point Air Station we have a machinist and at Point

Mugu, we have a carpenter. We have a telephone repairman, electrician, and an auto mechanic and electrician over in the department

of electronics and also at Point Mugu we have a boy who is a University of Washington graduate, school of journalism, and he is a

dispatcher. Here is a man working in the Government with a lot

of knowledge, good background, and he has not been able to move up

because he does not have reader service. He is at Point Mugu

and most of these stations publish a house organ.

This boy could move up if he had that reader help. We have the

skills and we are able to move forward in the mechanical end but,

with the passage of this bill, I am sure some of these men with fine

backgrounds will be able to move up and do the work which they are

skilled to do.

Other than that, gentlemen, I think that what has been said here

today has been very well covered and I do not think there is any use

of my going over it again.

I want to thank you and if I can answer any questions I will be glad

to do so.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Gillispie, for your time.

Mr. Corbett?

Mr. CoRBErr. Mr. Chairman, I do not have any questions but I

do want to say I appreciate the gentleman's presence and his

test imony.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Udall?

Mr. UDALL. No questions.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Daniels?

Mr. DANIELS. Just one thought comes to my mind, whether or not

it would be necessary to hire a reader for each employee the Government might employ?

Mr. GILLISPIE. I think not. I think we will find it is just like we

people here in , jobs outside the Government. A lot of the work we

organize in such a way we use a very minimum amount of a reader's

tune and service. I think, with a lot of these people in a lot of these

jobs, it will be found that once the man is in the job that this reading

service is not going to be the big thing maybe a lot of people thin.k it is,

because we have been able to handle these jobs that are responsible and
18 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

do the work. Everyone talks about a sixth sense. There is no such

thing as the sixth sense. You just reorganize the other senses you

have and when we go into that and through training and through

college, we have managed all of this college material and were able to

pass these examinations, and so forth, and I think we will find the

same thing here when we get men in these fields.

In fact, I think it is already demonstrated in the case of the gentleman Mr. Schloss spoke of in the Bureau of the Budget. I think his

reading time is very minimal and many others have made the grade.

I think we will find this all along the line.

Mr. DANIELS. Thank you.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Gillispie.

Mr. GILLISPIE. Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. ADDABBO. Our next witness is Mr. John F. Nagle, chief,

Washington office, National Federation of the Blind.

STATEMENT OF JOHN F. NAGLE, CHIEF, WASHINGTON OFFICE,

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND

Mr. NAGLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee my name is

John F. Nagle. I am the chief of the Washington office of the National Federation of the Blind. My address is 1908 Q Street NW.,

Washington 9, D.C.

The National Federation of the Blind endorses and vigorously

supports H.R. 11523.

We urge the committee to act upon this bill favorably and speedily

that it may become law without needless delay.

Since the founding of our organization in 1940, we, blind men and

women, members of the National Federation, have worked toward

improving the employment opportunities of all blind persons in

America.

We have worked to break down the barriers which deny them such

opportunities—denied them, not because they were unqualified or

lacked the talents and skills required, but because they were blind;

denied them, not because they were unable to do the requisite work

as well or better than those with sight, but denied them because they

were blind.

Believing that Government service could and should serve as a

proving ground for demonstrating the capacities and capabilities of

blind workers, we have sought to remove obstacles which barred qualified blind persons from obtaining positions in Federal civil service.

Just such an obstacle will be removed by the adoption of H.R. 11523.

The impediments to employment which this bill seeks to remove

are neither remote nor imaginary.

Let me give you an example of why this legislative proposal should

be enacted into law:

Recently, I became acquainted with a lawyer from Philadelphia.

He is blind. He came to Washington to secure employment with

the Government.

Finally, after much seeking and many disappointments, he notified

me that he had a job—or rather, he thought he almost had a job.

He was to work as a claims adjuster for a Government agency. His

work would require that he examine printed records, and secretarial
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 19

assistance paid by the employing agency would not be available to

him. At first, this seemed to present no problem—he had been advised he might have volunteers read the print material on tapes for

his use.

Later, my friend informed me that this simple solution, which

would have cost the Government nothing, was considered to be a

violation of Federal law—so, of course, he didn't get the job.

Had H.R. 11523 been law at the time, he would be gainfully and

successfully employed today.

However, although we are in full support of H.R. 11523, we believe

that if it becomes law in its present form, blind employees of Government, entitled to secretarial assistance at Government expense by

reason of the work they are doing, might be denied such secretarial

help and be required to furnish it at their own expense.

We believe that H.R. 11523 should be amended to prevent such a

possibility from occurring.

We also believe that the committee report issued with reference to

H.R. 11523 should spell out in clear and definite language that H.R.

11523 is intended to permit a blind Government employee to obtain

sighted help with his work without cost to the Government, but

only when such help would not be rightfully his because of the

work he is doing or the position he occupies in departmental structure.

We recommend the following statement and urge its acceptance as

an amendment to the bill and as an indication of the kind of language

which should appear in the committee report:

Nothing in this Act is intended to preclude the assignment of clerical or secretarial assistance to a blind employee, when such assistance would ordinarily be

provided to employees in such positions, or when, in the judgment of the head of

each department, the furnishing of such assistance would be desirable.

We request that this safeguard be included in both the bill and the

committee report, so that, when H.R. 11523 becomes law, all blind

persons wishing to work in Government service will be benefited by

it—to be sure that none is injured by it.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the transformation of H.R. 11523

from legislative proposal into Federal law would serve a double purpose, would be doubly beneficial—not only would it enhance the

employment opportunities of qualified blind persons in Government,

service, but would also make it possible for governmental departments and agencies to obtain competent, reliable workers.

We urge you, therefore, to act promptly and favorably on H.R.

11523.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, for this opportunity to

present the views of my organization on this matter.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Nagle, for taking your

time to come here.

Mr. Corbett?

Mr. CoRBErr. Mr. Chairman, I simply want to congratulate the

gentleman on his statement and thank him for his testimony here

today. .

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Udall?

Mr. UDALL. That was a fine statement and I join with my friend

from Pennsylvania in commending the witness for it.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Daniels?

Mr. DANIELS. I also wish to join with my colleagues in complimenting the gentleman for making a very fine statement.
20 READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Nagle.

Mr. NAGLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ADDABBO. Our next witness is Mr. David Krause, second vice

president, American Council of the Blind.

STATEMENT OF DAVID KRAUSE, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT, AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND

Mr. KRAUSE. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my

name is David Krause. I reside at 4628 Livingston road SE., Washington, D.C., and I am employed as regulations analyst for the Department of Occupations and Professions, District of Columbia Government. I am here this morning in my capacity as second vice

president of the American Council of the Blind to speak in support of

H.R. 11523.

The American Council of the Blind is a national organization of

blind men and women, which is working at all times to promote and

further employment opportunities for blind people. We welcome the

opportunity to support H.R. 11523, because we consider it to be a step

in the direction of providing greater employment opportunities in the

Federal service for professionally qualified blind persons. We know

of many instances in which able and well qualified blind persons have

been denied employment with the Federal Government simply because the positions for which they were applying did not have the

services of a secretary, and because the blind person was prevented

by law from obtaining a reader assistant from outside sources.

While the American Council of the Blind is primarily concerned

with the effect that such a situation has on the blind applicant, we

think that it should also be pointed out that the Federal Government

loses as well in these instances. Not only is the Federal agency denied

the services of a capable, loyal, and dependable employee, but in

many such instances, the blind person concerned may be forced into

being a tax consumer instead of a tax contributor. Failing to obtain

employment, it may be necessary for the blind person to turn to public assistance for survival. If passage of H.R. 11523 can make it

possible for just one more qualified blind person to obtain Federal

employment than would otherwise be the case, then the American

Council of the Blind believes that this legislation is fully justified.

While wholeheartedly supporting H.R. 11523, the American Council of the Blind has two points of concern with respect to this legislation. First, we wonder whether the State rehabilitation agencies for

the blind will assume the responsibility for providing the reader assistant for a blind employee, as a part of rehabilitation. And, second,

we wonder whether any Government agency will attempt to use this

legislation to justify the withdrawal of regular agency secretarial service from a blind employee now entitled to it. In order to encourage

the first practice and to preclude the second, the American Council

of the Blind respectfully recommends that the report accompanying

this bill contain a statement of intent with respect to each of the two

points just mentioned.

In conclusion, the American Council of the Blind wishes again to

declare its support of H.R. 11523 and to express the hope that this

committee will take favorable action on this much-needed legislation

in the very near future. Thank you.
READERS FOR BLIND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES 21

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Krause, for taking your

time to come before our committee.

Mr. Corbett?

Mr. CORBETT. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank this gentleman,

also, for his appearance here today and for his enlightening testimony

and to assure him that insofar as I can influence action this amendment will be included and the report certainly will highlight the two

items he has emphasized.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Udall?

Mr. UDALL. I join in the comments made by Mr. Corbett and hope

we can act promptly on this legislation.

I think Mr. Corbett is to be commended for all of the work he has

done on it and in sponsoring the bill.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Broyhill?

Mr. BROYHILL. No questions.

Mr. ADDABBO. Mr. Daniels?

Mr. DANIELS. No questions.

Mr. ADDABBO. Thank you very much, Mr. Krause.

Mr. KRAUSE. Thank you, sir.

Mr. ADDABBO. That concludes the hearings on H.R. 11523 and the

committee will now go into executive session.

(Thereupon, the hearing was adjourned at 10 a.m., Thursday,

May 24, 1962.)

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