From: David Andrews 
Subject: Attack on Randolph-Shepard Vending Program
                           MEMORANDUM
 DATE:  February 16, 1998
 FROM: James Gashel
   RE:  Latest attack on Randolph-Sheppard blind vendor priority
                         ACTION NEEDED!
     An effort to limit the blind vendor priority under the
Randolph-Sheppard Act has surfaced once again in the form of a
legislative proposal being made by the Department of Defense.
The proposal would create an exemption for military mess halls by
specifically excluding them from the definition of "vending
facility."  At present, there are several blind vendors who
manage large military mess hall food service operations under the
auspices of the Randolph-Sheppard Act.  In fact, these businesses
are probably the most challenging and financially rewarding
opportunities in the program.
     Although it is technically possible that the Congress may
consider this proposal under any circumstances, that is less
likely to happen if the legislation fails to receive the formal
blessing of the Clinton Administration.  Therefore, it is
critical for responsible officials in the Administration to know
of our objection to the proposal as soon as possible.  The letter
which follows is the official statement of the National
Federation of the Blind on this subject.  The deadline for
federal agencies to submit their comments to the Office of
Management and Budget is February 18, 1998.  This means that a
decision to approve or disapprove the proposal will be made
within a few days thereafter.
     Everyone who is interested in helping to resist this latest
attempt to erode the priority for blind vendors granted by the
Randolph-Sheppard Act should express opposition to the proposed
legislation.  Letters should be submitted to the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget by fax to the following two
numbers:  (202) 395-3888 and (202) 395-5105.  If the
Administration refuses to approve the proposal of the Department
of Defense, the issue will be favorably resolved at least for
now.  Therefore, a solid response in opposition to the proposal
should be made as soon as possible.
                        February 16, 1998
Mr. Franklin D. Raines, Director
Office of Management and Budget
Old Executive Office Building, Room 252
17th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20503
               RE:  Proposal by the Defense Department to amend
                    the Randolph-Sheppard Act
Dear Director Raines:
     Please consider the information provided in this letter in
evaluating the Administration's position on the above-captioned
legislative proposal.  The National Federation of the Blind
strongly opposes the proposal being made by the Department of
Defense (DOD) to amend the definitions of "cafeteria" and
"vending facility" contained in the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20
USC, 107 et. seq.).  In this letter I will explain the basis for
our opposition and request that the Administration not approve
submission of the proposal to the Congress.
     The Randolph-Sheppard Act has been in existence since 1936
as our nation's only targeted effort to provide remunerative
employment opportunities to blind people.  At present there are
approximately 3,500 blind people who operate small business
enterprises on public property throughout the U.S. under the
auspices of the Randolph-Sheppard Act.  Under the law, the blind
vendors are licensed as individual entrepreneurs.  As such, they
manage their own businesses, hire and supervise their own
employees, keep their own books, make purchasing and sales
decisions, and generally perform all of the duties relating to
small business ownership.
     When the Randolph-Sheppard Act was last amended in 1974, the
changes included greater emphasis on training and upward mobility
programs for the vendors. In fact, the amended Act expressed a
goal of providing opportunities for each blind vendor to achieve
the "maximum vocational potential."  Consistent with this
objective, the "preference" for blind people to operate "vending
stands" was altered to a "priority" to operate "vending
facilities."  The new term,"vending facility", was defined in the
amended Act to include a fairly broad category of businesses,
such as cafeterias, snack bars, and other businesses designed for
the sale of products and services to federal employees and the
public.
     In the years since the 1974 amendments, we have witnessed a
major shift in the types of businesses being operated by blind
people through this program.  Before the amendments, the
predominant image of the program was one of tokenism, where a
blind person would be given a spot in a federal building lobby to
sell newspapers, candy, tobacco products, and the like.  Today
this image is largely gone as blind people have moved from the
lobby stand into the arena of full food service management.
     As indicated by their annual sales figures and the dramatic
increase in net vendor earnings since the amendments, the change
from vending stands to vending facilities has been financially
rewarding for blind vendors.  Also, the change has been broadly
beneficial to all blind people, resulting from the positive
demonstration of entrepreneurship.  Military mess halls--the
facilities at issue in the DOD proposal--are perhaps the largest
and most challenging type of business being operated by blind
vendors at this point.
     With all of this as background, the purpose of the DOD
proposal is to exempt contracts for military mess halls from the
Randolph-Sheppard Act.  While the DOD explains this proposal as a
clarification of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, it is really nothing
more than a limitation on the Randolph-Sheppard Act.  The sole
effect of the amendment would be to exclude military mess halls
from application of the blind vendor priority.
     It should be noted that the DOD proposal is strongly opposed
by the Department of Education--the lead federal agency
responsible for coordinating government-wide compliance with the
Randolph-Sheppard Act.  Regardless of this, another agency--the
Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind or Severely
Disabled--will apparently support the proposal.  This is because
the Committee hopes to secure employment for disabled people as
food service workers if the priority for the blind is eliminated.
     In our view the Administration should not support
legislation which would limit business opportunities available to
the blind.  This is not to suggest that employment for disabled
people is not a worthy goal as well.  However, there is nothing
in the proposal from DOD that would assure that outcome.  On its
face, the legislation would only limit the Randolph-Sheppard Act
and not result in a corresponding expansion of any priority for
employing disabled people.  Therefore, it is speculative to think
that this would happen.
     As these comments suggest, the legislation requested by DOD
is really the outgrowth of a dispute that the Department of
Defense has with the Department of Education regarding the
administration of the Randolph-Sheppard Act on DOD-
controlled property.  This dispute should be resolved within the
executive branch and not by allowing one department to submit
legislation against the interests of another.
     Therefore, the DOD proposal should not receive clearance by
the Administration as long as it reflects one side of an inter-
departmental dispute and the internal procedures for reconciling
their positions have not been exhausted.  Above all, the
Administration should not approve legislation which would limit
the opportunities otherwise provided for blind people to achieve
their maximum vocational potential.
                              Very truly yours,
                              James Gashel
                              Director of Governmental Affairs
                              NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
JG/mrb
David Andrews, dandrews@visi.com
Telnet to nfbnet.org
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