U.S. Currency Discriminates Against Blind and Visually Impaired

In a case that has the potential to have an enormous everyday life impact on almost every person within the U. S., the D.C. Circuit Court held earlier this summer that United States currency discriminates against the blind and the visually impaired in violation of §504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act. The court did not venture to instruct the Treasury department on how to correct the discriminatory currency, but the Circuit Court did order the department to cooperate with all interested parties in coming to satisfactory resolution. The U.S., unlike most other countries abroad, prints bills of differing value on the same size notes. We also have no tactile features on our currency that would allow someone to differentiate bills based on touch. The size similarity between U.S. bills makes it extremely difficult for the visually impaired to differentiate between, say a 5$ and 10$ bill- having to either depend on the help of a sighted person or employ the use of an expensive electronic bill identifier. The Circuit Court held that the failure of the Treasury department to incorporate measures that would make currency readily identifiable constituted a significant obstacle to meaningful access to currency by the blind and visually impaired.

The history behind this case reads like a hypothetical on public policy test. The two largest blind organizations in the country were actually opposed each other during this litigation. The National Federation of the Blind sought to suppress the case- thinking the argument that the visually impaired cannot use American currency portrays the visually impaired as unable to independently engage in everyday transactions. The NFB was also worried about the public backlash that may result from a massive change - and accompanied massive cost- to the US currency system in response to a lack of access by a relatively small community. The American Counsel of the Blind on the other hand, supported the litigation- arguing that the fact that the visually impaired have to rely on help from sighted friends or purchase a somewhat unreliable electronic reader was absurd, and inherently unfair. But don’t forget the business interests. Vending Machine manufacturers, for instance, strongly opposed the decision. Vending machines are designed and built to the existing size specifications of US currency. Were the size of US bills changed, every single vending machine in the U.S. would have to be updated or replaced.

Congress has seemed hesitant, and perhaps disinterested, to engage in any significant response to the decision. The House Committee on Financial Services held hearings on the issue earlier this month- a hearing in which 3 members attended. The sentiment among those in attendance seemed to be that a response can wait until after the summer recess. (Though Congressman Ron Paul, in his classic libertarian fashion, proposed that we privatize currency creation and allow private companies to compete in producing the most useful currency- allowing the market to offer effective monetary choices for the visually impaired.) A Treasury department official made it clear in that hearing that existing minting machines do not have the capability to print different size bills. The cost to overhaul the currency system in order to comply with the Circuit Court ruling, whatever that solution may be, will be enormous. This is certainly one issue with no easy solution.

American Council of the Blind v. Paulson

Posted by Todd Garvey