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Blind Merchants Oppose Bill Commercializing Interstate Highway Rest Areas

KNOXVILLE, TN -- The National Association of Blind Merchants reports that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would permit states to grant concessions for food services at the rest stops they maintain on federal interstate highways. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the measure, HR 1990, in April. The legislation would amend Title 23 of the United States Code, specifically Section 111 (agreements relating to use of and access to rights-of-way -- interstate system). That s...

November 16, 2017

KNOXVILLE, TN -- The National Association of Blind Merchants reports that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would permit states to grant concessions for food services at the rest stops they maintain on federal interstate highways. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the measure, HR 1990, in April. 

The legislation would amend Title 23 of the United States Code, specifically Section 111 (agreements relating to use of and access to rights-of-way -- interstate system). That section presently limits food and beverage service at interstate system rest stops to vending machines, and requires states to give priority to machines operated by blind vendors licensed by the state under provisions of the Randolph-Sheppard Act.

NABM noted that momentum has been growing for commercialization of interstate rest areas. "The President's proposed budget for FY2018 communicated support for the idea," the association pointed out. "The infrastructure bill that will presumably be introduced next year is expected to include the option of commercialization of the rest areas through public-private partnerships.

"Almost 400 blind entrepreneurs could lose their businesses," NABM warned. "The threat is real."

For this reason, the association is calling on members to contact their elected officials to express their opposition to commercializing the rest areas on interstate highways. President Nicky Gacos, Colorado Associates (Metuchen, NJ), said, "We need every U.S. senator and member of Congress to receive as many letters as possible, and we need them from as many different addresses as possible."

Gacos explained that NABM's parent organization, the National Federation for the Blind, has a website that can be used effectively to get the ball rolling. It's located at nfb.constituentvoice.net/nfbaction.

"The website will automatically find your members for you," Gacos explained. "It is as simple as 1-2-3-4."

The procedure is:

1. Review the letter on the website that has been drafted for you to send.
2. Fill in all of the blanks with your contact information.
3. Click on Preview Letters.
4. Click on Send All Letters.

Strong participation in this campaign will be a good start, the NABM president observed: "But don't stop there. Get all of your friends and family members to send letters," he advised. "Paste the link on your Facebook Page or Twitter account and encourage followers to help out the cause."

The 115th Congress is in recess until Sept. 5. During this period, Gacos urged, "Contact your member of Congress's local office and ask for a meeting when they are home. 

"We will be sharing talking points for such meetings or you can go to our website --blindmerchants.org -- to review them," he continued. "Talking points will be up soon.

"If every blind entrepreneur sends a letter and gets four other people to do the same, we will generate over 10,000 letters," the veteran operator concluded. "We can beat this."

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NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND RESOLUTION

Regarding the Commercialization of Interstate Rest Areas

WHEREAS, Congress, in 1936, enacted the Randolph-Sheppard Act to "provide blind persons with remunerative employment," to "enlarge their economic opportunities, and encourage their self-support through the operation of vending facilities in federal buildings," and subsequent amendments to the Randolph-Sheppard Act have further clarified Congress's intent and have continued to expand economic opportunities for blind entrepreneurs; and

WHEREAS, in 1982 Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly of Connecticut recognized the opportunity that existed for blind entrepreneurs at interstate rest areas and subsequently introduced the "Kennelly Amendment" to the Surface Transportation Act, which authorized state licensing agencies designated to administer the Randolph-Sheppard Program the priority to operate vending machines at interstate rest areas; and

WHEREAS, because of the passage of the "Kennelly Amendment," today, 20 percent of blind entrepreneurs who participate in the Randolph-Sheppard Program operate vending machines at interstate rest areas nationwide; and

WHEREAS, the livelihood of these approximately four hundred blind entrepreneurs is now being jeopardized by Congressional efforts which seek to commercialize these interstate rest areas, most recently with the introduction of H.R. 1990 in the 115th Congress by Congressman Jim Banks of Indiana, which seeks to amend Title 23, United States Code, to allow food concessions at state-owned interstate rest areas; and

WHEREAS, the result of commercialization of interstate rest areas would be directly felt by blind entrepreneurs, who would then be forced to compete with well-established and well-recognized franchises, essentially putting these blind entrepreneurs out of work almost overnight: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this fourteenth day of July, 2017, in the City of Orlando, Florida, that this organization urge that Congressman Jim Banks withdraw H.R. 1990 from consideration in the 115th Congress until the concerns of the blind entrepreneurs who earn their living from vending machines in our nation's interstate rest areas are adequately addressed.