[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8506-8507]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING THE ABILITYONE PROGRAM

  (Mr. ASHFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ASHFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support and 
admiration for the AbilityOne Program, this country's single largest 
provider of employment for people who are blind or have significant 
disabilities.
  AbilityOne currently works with approximately 4,600 blind individuals 
and over 44,000 disabled people, 3,000 of whom are military veterans or 
wounded warriors, helping them gain greater independence and a higher 
quality of life. This is accomplished by providing them with both the 
skills and training necessary to find valued jobs with good wages and 
benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress first recognized the need for this type of 
program in 1938 and expanded upon it in 1971. Today AbilityOne delivers 
more than $2 billion in quality products and services to the Federal 
Government at fair market prices. It also provides critical support to 
the U.S. armed services for

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both military and humanitarian operations. With a national network of 
nearly 600 community-based nonprofit agencies, AbilityOne contracts 
projects in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 
Guam.
  With the participation of more of its citizens in the workplace, 
every community benefits from greater cultural diversity and awareness.

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