ACB Takes Action on Currency Delays

    ALEXANDRIA, VA, June 09, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The American Council of the Blind (ACB) filed a motion this week in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to require the U.S. Department of the Treasury to act judiciously and expeditiously in order to release accessible currency by December 31, 2020. The petition to the court comes following a recent Treasury update that it would not have accessible currency until as late as 2026, thirteen years past the initial timeline set forth by the court in ACB v. Paulson.

"Our motion to the judge who upheld the 2008 decision that the U.S. must make currency meaningfully accessible affirms our great displeasure that the Treasury is taking entirely too long to bring accessible currency online," said Eric Bridges, ACB's executive director. "When the court ruled in 2008 to uphold our right to equal access, the expectations were that it would take three to five years, not almost two decades."

The Department of the Treasury claims that the delay is not due to making currency accessible, but rather over concerns about counterfeiting advancements. The court ruled in 2008 that the next currency design should be made accessible under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which asserts all federal government programs and practices must be accessible to people with disabilities.

"Historically speaking, the government tries to address counterfeiting by redesigning currency every seven to ten years," added Bridges. "The court took this into consideration when establishing its timeline, which makes the delay even more disconcerting on so many levels."

Click here to read the motion filed by ACB.

The American Council of the Blind is the largest consumer-based organization of blind and visually impaired individuals advocating for the rights of all blind people. Comprised of more than 70 affiliates across the United States, the organization is dedicated to making it possible for blind and visually impaired people to participate fully in all aspects of society. For more information, visit www.acb.org; phone (202) 467-5081; or visit us on Twitter @acbnational, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial.

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