[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5766-5767]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CONGRATULATING BOSMA INDUSTRIES AND THE ABILITYONE PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN W. BROOKS

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2014

  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the 
outstanding work of Bosma Industries and the AbilityOne Program. 
AbilityOne is an outstanding program committed to providing 
``employment opportunities for people who are blind or have significant 
disabilities in the manufacture and delivery of products and services 
to the Federal Government.'' Unfortunately, over 70 percent of those 
who are blind and visually impaired are unemployed. Thanks to the 
efforts of

[[Page 5767]]

AbilityOne, over 50,000 people who are blind or have significant 
disabilities have found gainful employment. Since 1915, Indiana's very 
own Bosma Enterprises has been a partner of the program by providing 
job training, employment services, rehabilitation and outreach programs 
for people who are blind or visually impaired. In fact, Bosma is 
Indiana's largest employer of people with vision loss. Last year alone, 
Bosma helped 179 blind people find gainful employment and assisted over 
700 people in acclimating to their vision loss.
  This is about more than numbers though. It is about the people they 
are assisting. Take the example of Robert. In the sixth grade, he was 
diagnosed with a learning disability and he also has impaired hearing 
and a speech impediment. Despite these obstacles, Robert was able to 
graduate high school. He then went on to earn a certification in 
welding from the Upper Valley Joint Vocational School in Ohio. 
Unfortunately, Robert's vision then began to decline. While Robert's 
vision declined, he was able to work at Walmart for 15 years. Then, in 
2010, he lost his vision entirely to glaucoma and was no longer able to 
work. A year after he was declared legally blind, Robert found Bosma 
Industries and a whole new purpose in life. He went through the 
rehabilitation program and later began utilizing Bosma's employment 
services. First, Robert was taught how to acclimate himself to the 
outside world. He was hesitant to leave the comfort of his community 
but with Bosma's orientation to mobility training he began to come out 
of his shell. Robert learned how to build a computer, write a check, 
repair a broken door and other life skills. He even learned sculpting 
and pottery at Bosma. Bosma got Robert ready to take on the world 
through counseling, workshops on resume writing and how to find 
different ways of performing everyday tasks. Robert currently enjoys 
his time volunteering at Goodwill Industries, and hopes it will lead to 
a paid position soon. Bosma Industries empowers people to succeed.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to extend my support to the AbilityOne 
Program. I also want to thank Lou Moneymaker, the President and CEO of 
Bosma Industries and their staff for their dedication and support to 
changing the lives of Hoosiers struggling with blindness or vision 
loss. They have forever transformed these lives and have had a positive 
impact on all of our communities.

                          ____________________