NCD letter to White House regarding Taskforce interpreters

March 18, 2020

Stephanie Grisham
Director of Communications
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Ms. Grisham,

I write to you today on behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency charged with providing advice and recommendations regarding disability policy to the President, Congress, and other federal agencies, to request that the White House Coronavirus Taskforce use sign language interpreters during its public briefings. Millions of people in the US who are Deaf or hard of hearing use American Sign Language to obtain the vital information the Taskforce provides. 1

These are no doubt challenging times and while some considerations might be easily overlooked, rest assured that the National Council on Disability is ready and willing to fulfill its duty to the President and Congress by highlighting the needs and concerns of the disability community as our government responds to the public health crisis at hand. There is no doubt that the Coronavirus brings with it significant added concerns for people with disabilities.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns regarding this, or any other matter related to disability policy and law. If a member of your team would like to discuss this with a member of my team please have them contact Lisa Grubb, Executive Director at lgrubb@ncd.gov.

Sincerely,

Neil Romano
Chairman

CC: Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Chairman of the President’s Task Force on the Novel Coronavirus

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1 The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990); The Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 701 (1973).