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Sample Letter To Congress
(Insert today's date here)
(Insert your name and address here)
Dear (Insert your Senator or Representative's name here):
I am writing to ask that you draft legislation requiring the Treasury Department to incorporate nonvisual distinguishing characteristics into U.S. paper currency as part of its next scheduled redesign process.
Since American paper money is all the same size and texture, it is impossible to distinguish between bills without looking at them. This presents a safety concern for all Americans when we have to sort through our bills in plain view to find the ones we need, but for the millions of Americans with significant vision impairment, it is even more of a problem.
Although most blind Americans have learned to keep track of their money by folding their bills in different ways or keeping them in different places in their wallets, they must still rely on a sighted person or a bill reading device to tell them which bills they have received. Because blind people have no quick and independent way to tell one bill from another when receiving change from a cashier, for example, they are at undue risk of being accidentally or deliberately shortchanged.
The solution to these problems is simple: the Treasury could make the different denominations different sizes (as they do in England), they could place a different raised marking on each bill (as they do in Canada), or American dollars could have both size variation and tactile markings (as Euros do). Many American-made ATM’s and vending machines are already being used in these countries.
The Treasury is currently considering distributing palm-held bill reading machines to visually impaired Americans. This proposal is unacceptable because it would force blind people to carry around an external device to gain the same information that sighted Americans take for granted. Can you imagine having to rely on the battery life of a machine in order to identify what’s in your wallet, especially when there are more cost-effective ways of making currency accessible to everyone?
All Americans deserve to be able to use their money safely and independently regardless of where they are or how much they can see. Since I am one of your constituents, I am very interested to find out your thoughts on this issue, and I would like to hear about any progress you make in drafting legislation to address it.
Sincerely,
(Insert your name and signature here)