Lincoln Chafee: “this is an amendment that I am offering on behalf of myself and those Senators that I just listed. This amendment is…”

“this is an amendment that I am offering on behalf of myself and those Senators that I just listed. This amendment is supported by the Association of American Publishers, the National Federation of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, the American Printing House for the Blind, Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, and the U.S. Copyright Office. It also has the support of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and we are waiting for approval by the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee before proceeding. Mr. President, the amendment I am proposing along with those Senators I mentioned is an amendment to the legislative branch appropriations bill regarding books for the blind. In 1931, the Library of Congress National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped was established by an act of Congress. Since then, funding for this immensely valuable program has been included in the legislative branch bill, which, of course, funds the Library of Congress. The National Library Service and a handful of nonprofit organizations reproduce in specialized formats published material that is readily available to sighted individuals in libraries, bookstores, newsstands and countless other locations.”