Is the money in your wallet accessible?

Dateline: Washington D.C.

 

In a decision rendered by the Appeals Court of the District of Columbia, on May 20^th, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department was found to be in violation of the Rehabilitation Act which allows people with disabilities the right to have money that is identifiable without the use of outside sources or devices.

 

Currently many individuals with either low vision or who are totally blind utilize a battery operated device, called “Note Teller 2 – Talking Money Identifier.”

 

The “Note Teller 2” allows someone to take any denomination of U.S. currency and slide in to the unit and identify either in English or in Spanish what the amount of the bill is!  The unit is powered by a 9-volt battery and has a volume control.

 

To purchase or obtain more information about the “Note Teller 2 - Talking Money identifier,” visit:

 

http://www.independentliving.com/prodinfo.asp?number=541600

 

The text of the press release regarding the Appeals Court decision can be found below.  It is the opinion of the author of this blog that this is far from being over and that it will probably be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

-- The U.S. Treasury Department discriminates because it has failed to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable by people who are blind, a federal appeals court ruled.

 

By a 2-1 vote, the court upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Robertson in a lawsuit filed by The American Council of the Blind (ACB) against the U.S. Treasury Department.

 

ACB accused the department and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson of violating the Rehabilitation Act, which was meant to ensure that people with disabilities can live independently and fully participate in society.

 

The appeals court rejected the Treasury Department's arguments that making currency accessible would impose an undue burden on the government, and sent the case back to Robertson to address the group's request for relief.

 

Mitch Pomerantz, President of the American Council of the Blind, stated:

"This is a tremendous victory for the ACB and for every blind and   visually

impaired person living in the United States today and in the future. We hope that the treasury department will now sit down with us to come up with a mutually satisfactory way of making our currency accessible."

 

"Virtually all of the other industrialized countries around the globe have accessible currency, and this is long overdue for the United States,"

commented Dr. Ron E. Milliman, who chairs ACB’s Public Relations Committee.

 

“there are over 180 nations that have some sort of accessibility built in to their paper currency.  Currencies used by countries such as Canada, Australia, Japan, England, and even the Euro have accessibility features. The U.S. is rather unique in that it is one of very few industrialized nations that   has resisted including shape, size, texture, or meaningful color contrast in it's bank notes," said Melanie Brunson, Executive Director of ACB.     

 

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The low vision aids industry leader for over 31 years Independent Living Aids provides the tools and technology to enhance, enrich and support active lifestyles. Visit the ILA website, www.independentliving.com for a comprehensive and constantly updated selection of products for the blind and visually impaired including, canes magnifiers talking watches talking clocks large print books Zoomtext magnification software Braille text talking cooking gadgets