Ranking Member Markey Slams Trump Administration for Cruelly Attacking Blind Entrepreneurs

RM Markey: "The Randolph-Sheppard program does not provide handouts...it offers a hand up to individuals seeking entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency."

Letter (PDF)

(Washington, March 27) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon condemning the Trump administration's brazen attack on blind entrepreneurs and workers. Trump's Department of Education recently limited the Randolph-Sheppard priority, a law enacted in 1936 to give blind entrepreneurs the opportunity to serve the U.S. military by operating dining facilities, at installations across the country. The Trump administration's limit puts at least 24 dining contracts in jeopardy at 22 Army installations across the United States, including at Fort Devens in Massachusetts.

In the letter, Ranking Member Markey urged Secretary McMahon to immediately rescind the limitation and uphold the Randolph-Sheppard priority for all military dining locations.

In the letter, Ranking Member Markey writes, "For almost 90 years, blind vendors have demonstrably fulfilled the responsibilities of the [Randolph-Sheppard] program with excellence, generating reliable revenue for their local economies and dignified livelihoods for themselves and their employees. Your approval of a limitation on the Randolph-Sheppard priority as applied to all Army dining contracts marks the first time in history that such a categorical exemption spanning multiple facilities has been granted. The resulting effect is to displace experienced blind entrepreneurs and jeopardize the financial stability of these vendors and their employees."

Ranking Member Markey continues, "Moreover, this decision undermines the bipartisan legacy of the Randolph-Sheppard program, which Congress has repeatedly reaffirmed over many decades as a model for providing meaningful employment and entrepreneurial opportunity to blind individuals. The Department's abrupt departure from that commitment erodes public trust in the Department and adds further arbitrary barriers to success for blind Americans. The Randolph-Sheppard program does not provide handouts; instead, it offers a hand-up to individuals seeking entrepreneurship and economic self-sufficiency."

Ranking Member Markey requested answers to the following questions by April 10, 2026:

1. Are you committed to complying with the Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936?
2. Have any Randolph-Sheppard Army dining contracts not been renewed since the limitation issued by the Department? If so, please provide a list of each non-renewal and subsequent location.
3. How many blind vendors participating in the Randolph-Sheppard program have been awarded permits in accordance with the Randolph-Sheppard priority each year from 2021 through 2026?
4. How will you ensure that Randolph-Sheppard participants are not discriminated against based on their disability status during contract award processes with this limitation in place?
5. Will the Department support blind vendors who lose their contracts as a result of your approval of the limitation for Army locations? If so, how?
6. Provide documentation that the Randolph-Sheppard priority imposes a threat to the Army.
7. What specific threat or risk of harm prompted the Department to issue this policy change with nationwide scope?
8. Is this limitation of the Randolph-Sheppard priority an effort toward eliminating small business participation in government contracting? If not, how will you ensure that small businesses are not disadvantaged following this limitation?

Advocates from the American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind have written to Ranking Member Markey describing how the Trump administration's decision to limit the Randolph-Sheppard priority hurts blind entrepreneurs.

"The Randolph-Sheppard program is a vital source of economic opportunity and independence for people who are blind," said Scott Thornhill, Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. "The decision by Secretary McMahon in December 2025 could have devastating consequences for Randolph-Sheppard vendors. For decades, these entrepreneurs have demonstrated their expertise by delivering high-quality services on military installations. Diminishing these opportunities undermines decades of bipartisan commitment to self-employment and independence for people who are blind or have low vision."

"The Department of Education's decision to waive the Randolph-Sheppard priority for Army dining facilities is alarming and threatens long-standing employment opportunities for blind Americans," said Nicky Gacos, President of the National Association of Blind Merchants, a division of the National Federation of the Blind. "I lost my eyesight at eighteen and built my career through the Business Enterprise Program, which has empowered me, along with 1,400 blind entrepreneurs across the United States, to operate successful businesses and support our families while we support the military and tens of thousands of federal employees. Blind entrepreneurs have a proven record of managing complex dining operations, including on military installations. In fact, many dining facility business owners have been recognized for excellence. Weakening this priority puts our livelihoods at risk and undermines a Congressionally mandated program that has delivered economic opportunities for nearly ninety years."

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