[Colorado-talk] FW: TODAY Contact Your Senators!

[Dan Burke]

I hope everyone is taking a couple of minutes to contact our Senators
to #FixWIA!

Here are some other options for contacting Senators Udall and Bennet.
Remember to use the hash tag for social media #FixWIA:

Senator Mark Udall

Washington Office Phone:
(202) 224-5941

Face Book page:
https://www.facebook.com/markudall

Twitter:
@MarkUdall

e-mail for Udall Staffer who has met with us:
Stephanie_Cross at MarkUdall.senate.gov

Online Message Form:
http://www.markudall.senate.gov/?p=contact_us

Senator Michael Bennet

Washington Office:
(202) 224-5852

Face Book:
https://www.facebook.com/senatorbennet

Twitter:
@SenBennetCO

Two of Bennet’s Staffers e-mails:
Ellen_Steiner at bennet.senate.gov

Savannah_krieg at bennet.senate.gov

Online Contact Form:
http://www.bennet.senate.gov/contact/email

Here's what I posted to each of their Face Book pages ...


I want you to help us #FixWIA!

I am blind and a member of the National Federation of the Blind, a
former Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and currently a staff
member at the Colorado Center for the Blind.

We need you to help us fix two things in the current WIA reauthorization bill.

First, remove Section 511.  It would create a new pathway for
transitioning students with disabilities to subminimum wage jobs.  We
worked too hard to eliminate subminimum-wage placements as successful
closures for VR to have this slide back into legitimacy.  We of course
are working to eliminate 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
entirely as discriminatory and immoral.

Second, help us prevent the proposal in WIA to move the Rehabilitation
Services Administration to Labor from Education.  There is no
objective reason to make this costly and disruptive move.  What’s
more, we believe that it could have a negative impact on the VR
programs that our people depend on to become independent,
self-sufficient and tax-paying members of society.  Good government
requires more than mere whimsy upon which to make momentous decisions
that affect us.

Thank you for your support and attention to fixing WIA!

Respectfully yours,




On 1/14/14, Scott C. LaBarre <slabarre at labarrelaw.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone, please take the very few minutes and make contact with
> Senators Bennett and Udall.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Scott
>
>
>
> From: Jessica Beecham [mailto:jbbeecham at gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2014 1:25 PM
> To: j beecham
> Subject: TODAY Contact Your Senators!
>
>
>
> Hello Everyone!
>
>
>
> Today, January 15, 2014 we need to tell our Senators that it is time to
> #FixWIA.  Below is the email I plan to send to my Senators.  I encourage
> you
> to use this letter as a template (or create your own) to inform your
> Senators about the problems with WIA.
>
> Thanks for all of your work. Let's get this done!
>
>
> #######
>
> Dear Senator X,
>
> I am writing to voice my concerns about S. 1356, the reauthorization of the
> Workforce Investment Act (WIA).  Although I know the reauthorization of WIA
> is overdue, I just cannot support the current bill as it is written.
>
> During the 1990s, the disability community fought really hard for language
> that would notallow a vocational rehabilitation case to be closed by a
> placement in a sheltered workshop. The current bill language of Section
> 511,
> a controversial section among the disability community, will allow
> vocational rehabilitation counselors to successfully close cases by placing
> their clients in subminimum-wage sheltered workshops.  Subminimum-wage
> sheltered work does not come close to adequately training people with
> disabilities for mainstream competitive employment.  In fact, research
> shows
> that people with disabilities have to unlearnthe habits taught in sheltered
> workshops in order to get a mainstream job.  Ninety-five percent of people
> with disabilities who enter sheltered workshops never obtain the employment
> they are being "trained" for.  In other words, once a person with
> disability
> is placed in a sheltered workshop, their full potential is almost never
> reached.  They must remain on public assistance for the rest of their
> lives.
>
>
> I am also concerned with the bill language moving the Rehabilitation
> Services Administration (RSA) from the Department of Education to the
> Department of Labor. There is no research that shows this move will improve
> the efficiency and outcomes of the RSA.  It is important to keep in mind
> that everyone needs an education before he/she obtains a job.  For many,
> this education comes in the form of college and/or graduate school.  For
> people with severe disabilities, this might mean having access to quality
> rehabilitation services to develop their unique skills and talents.  This
> process is an educational process-RSA should stay in the Department of
> Education.
>
> Senator X, I need your help.  Please consider offering an amendment that
> will strike Section 511 of Title V of WIA, and remove the language that
> transfers RSA from Education to Labor.
>
> Thank you.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.  If you have any
> questions or concerns, feel free to reach me at (add your contact info).
>
> Sincerely,
>
> (Your Name)
>
>
>
> These are e-mail addresses for staffers of both Senator Bennet and Udall.
>
>
>
> Senator Udall
>
>
>
> Stephanie_Cross at MarkUdall.senate.gov
>
>
>
> Senator Bennet
>
>
>
> Ellen_Steiner at bennet.senate.gov
>
>
>
> Savannah_krieg at bennet.senate.gov
>
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-- 
Dan Burke
My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal