July 28, 2025
The Honorable Robert Aderholt, Chair
United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
272 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member
United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
2413 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito, Chair
United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
170 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin, Ranking Member
United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
141 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairs Aderholt and Capito, and Ranking Members DeLauro and Baldwin:
The National Federation of the Blind is the nation’s premier membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans. We work tirelessly to advance the lives of our tens of thousands of members from our fifty-two affiliates, as well as all blind people in the United States. As you begin working on the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, we respectfully request your continued commitment to fund federal programs that support access to education, employment, and independent living for individuals who are blind.
In the field of education, special education services funded through the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act include instruction in Braille, orientation and mobility, and access technology. These are necessary components of an effective educational experience for blind students. The Office of Special Education Programs plays a key role in ensuring these services are accessible and appropriately delivered.
These tools are essential for academic achievement for all blind students across the country, and we urge Congress to maintain funding for all of these programs at the fiscal year 2024 level plus a 5 percent cost of living adjustment. This small adjustment is equivalent to the 2.5 percent adjustment granted to Social Security beneficiaries for the year 2025 plus the anticipated 2.5 percent adjustment for 2026.
Regarding the federal quota program administered by the American Printing House for the Blind which delivers specialized instructional materials—such as Braille textbooks and tactile graphics—to blind and low-vision students nationwide, we are requesting a 10 million dollar increase from 43 million dollars to 53 million dollars. This is urgently needed to accommodate the nearly 40 percent increase in students that the program has had in recent years. In addition, this increase would help facilitate the distribution of the Monarch, an innovative multi-line Braille and tactile graphics technology that is revolutionizing access to education for blind students.
Currently there is a line-item program in the Department of Education budget known as the “Educational Technology, Media and Materials Program.” It is through this program, that the Office of Special Education Programs provides a grant in the amount of 9 million dollars annually to Bookshare, an online library of accessible ebooks for the blind and print disabled, to provide free access to all eligible blind K-12 students throughout the United States. We wholeheartedly support the funding of this grant and urge that it be maintained at its current level.
Bridging the gap from education to employment are public libraries, specifically the thirty-nine specialized regional libraries for the blind and print disabled that receive all or part of their funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Grants to States program. Without appropriate funding for these specialized regional libraries there may be millions of blind Americans who are at risk of losing access to a vital source of Braille and other specialized services provided by state libraries for the blind. We are urging you to maintain the critical funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services at the fiscal year 2024 level plus a 5 percent cost of living adjustment.
Regarding employment, the 2023 American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau estimates that 61.9 percent of the blind working age population (ages 21-64) is either not employed or underemployed. This number is staggeringly high, yet just ten years ago that same figure was closer to 75 percent. The National Federation of the Blind knows that our nation’s vocational rehabilitation programs are key to unlocking the doors to success for the blind in America’s workforce, and any cuts to these programs will have a dramatic and devastating effect on the employment outcomes for all blind Americans.
Furthermore, funding reductions to these programs create a cascading consequence of more blind Americans relying on federal and state benefits programs, which will only cause greater economic strain on federal and state budgets.
As you consider appropriations for fiscal year 2026, we urge Congress to maintain funding for vocational rehabilitation programs, including client assistance programs and protection and advocacy programs, at the fiscal year 2024 level plus a 5 percent cost of living adjustment. These programs collectively serve nearly one million blind and disabled individuals annually and offer essential support in job readiness, access to technology, and career development.
Finally, we request an increase in funding for the Independent Living Services for Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB) program for the 2026 fiscal year. This initiative provides training in nonvisual skills such as mobility, daily living techniques, and technology for Americans over age fifty-five. According to the 2023 American Community Survey, there are more than 3.4 million blind Americans who are eligible for this program, and at the current funding level, that averages out to less than ten dollars per person.
As our population continues to age, the need for these services will continue to grow as well. Expanded support will help older blind individuals maintain independence and avoid more costly forms of care. We are requesting an increase in the funding level for the OIB program to 254,737,500 dollars, which would average out to approximately seventy-five dollars per eligible individual.
The above programs address critical areas of need and contribute to the broader goal of improving education and employment opportunities for all individuals. The programs also grant blind and low-vision Americans the opportunity to participate fully in their communities. Providing funding for these services will ensure that all Americans have the same chance to live independently and thrive.
On a personal note, I have lived my entire life as a blind person. In 2014, I was elected to serve as the President of the National Federation of the Blind, where I lead a national staff of sixty-five individuals, and help coordinate the efforts of the Federation’s fifty-two affiliates and numerous special-interest divisions.
As a young person transitioning to a working professional, I relied heavily on all of the above programs, which provided the tools I needed to transform my dreams into reality. I urge you to please continue supporting the above programs so that each and every blind and disabled American will have the same opportunity that I have been granted to fully live the American dream.
Thank you for your consideration and continued support of these essential programs.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind