Ehrlich on Washington column, September 14, 1998

MEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of September 14, 1998 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. RESTORING FAIRNESS FOR THE BLIND While I spend much time attending district activities and events, I also spend much time in Washington, D.C. working on my legislative agenda for the Second District and our country. Occasionally, a constituent brings an issue to me where I can seek a legislative remedy which will have a meaningful impact on a personal level for a substantial number of people. The readers of this column may recall previous columns on such an issue— the “innocent spouse” bill which I introduced to assist a constituent in seeking relief from the IRS. H.R. 3650 improved the tax code’s “innocent spouse” provision by protecting many women from their former husbands’ tax liabilities. I am grateful the House leadership, particularly Speaker Gingrich and Chairman Archer of the Ways and Means Committee, championed my bill which was signed into law this past July. Another such issue involves fairness for individuals with blindness or visual impairment. There are an estimated 350,000 blind Americaris. Blindness is often associated with adverse social and economic consequences. The employment and earnings of vision-impaired Americans are substantially lower than those of persons without disabilities. It is often difficult for these workers to find sustained employment or for that matter employment at all. Fortunately, technological developments have greatly contributed to moving more blind people into today’s