On Monday, February 11, President Bushed signed a memorandum to various Federal procurement officials, reminding them to purchase goods and services from the AbilityOne program. Formerly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program, AbilityOne employs thousands of blind or severely disabled workers, creates jobs and training opportunities for disabled Americans, and encourages the government to purchase products and services provided by nonprofit agencies that employ disabled workers. According to the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, purchases from AbilityOne aid in the reductions of the 70% unemployment rate of the blind and severely disabled.

Full Article: Bush urges federal agencies to purchase from blind, severely disabled