[Colorado-talk] Call Mike Coffman on HR 620

[Dan Burke]

Greetings all -

This week you’ve doubtless seen the e-mail from our  Governmental
Affairs Director John Pare regarding H.R. 620: The ADA Education and
Reform Act.  This is an attempt to weaken the ADA, and naturally the
NFB opposes this.

Scott learned from the national office this week that Colorado
Congressman Mike Coffman is a cosponsor of H.R. 620, so we need to
take action immediately.  Yes, that means another phone call from each
one of us.  Please call Rep. Coffman’s office, especially if you are
in House District 6, which is Aurora to Englewood to Littleton and
then some. But call if you’re not too.

What should you say?  I belong to the National Federation of the Blind
of Colorado and oppose H.R. 620, which he is cosponsoring.

Next will come the offices and numbers to call.  After that is more
info from the National ofice about this bill.  Certainly we should all
make ourselves familiar with this info, but on a phone call you don’t
get much time to talk, so just say that we oppose the bill.

Meantime, we’re trying to get an appointment with Rep. Coffman next
week during the recess, and we’ve reached out to his Legislative Aide
as well.  Phone calls will hopefully help get his attention and maybe
get us an appointment.

Here come the numbers to call:

Aurora District Office
Phone: 720.748.7514
Fax: 720.748.7680
Hours: M-F 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Washington, DC Office
Phone: 202.225.7882
Fax: 202.226.4623
Hours: M-F 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

More on H.R. 620from Governmental Affairs:

We are concerned that H.R. 620 is a solution in search of a problem,
based on a faulty premise driven primarily by anecdotal and often
exaggerated stories.  This isn't a good enough reason to weaken the
ADA and cost people with disabilities the opportunity to purchase
goods and services, enjoy entertainment and engage fully in their
communities, not to mention the losses in potential revenue that
businesses would incur by excluding potential customers with
disabilities

*          This bill would weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act
by undermining a person’s ability to pursue issues of inaccessibility
under Title III of the ADA

*          Title III is the “public accommodations” section of the
ADA; it refers to businesses and other public spaces that people,
including people with disabilities, may want to utilize or visit;
Title III outlines the responsibilities of businesses and other
entities in making their services and spaces accessible to people with
disabilities

*          H.R. 620 operates on the unproven premise that “frivolous”
lawsuits are filed all the time under Title III of the ADA; the
argument is that such lawsuits are designed simply to extort money
from businesses and rarely have anything to do with genuine
accessibility concerns

*          For obvious reasons, we in the disability community broadly
and the NFB specifically reject this premise; we encounter
accessibility barriers all the time, whether in physical locations or
on business websites, and we rarely file lawsuits

*          It’s also important to note that Title III of the ADA does
not actually permit lawsuits seeking “damages” or money; they can only
be lawsuits seeking redress and recourse regarding the accessibility
issue; some states have enacted laws permitting suits that seek
damages but that is a state issue, not an issue with the ADA itself

*          We are asking that the stakeholders involved pause and
gather more information on the underlying issue; namely, the actual
frequency and expense of so-called “frivolous” lawsuits brought under
Title III of the ADA

*          Specifically, we would urge the commission of a study on
the issue, to be conducted by the Congressional Research Service
(CRS); this would allow all of us to have a better sense of what the
actual issues may be and what the negative consequences of H.R. 620
might be




-- 
Dan Burke
My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal