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<p class="MsoNormal">Fellow Federationists:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you reached out to our state legislators at any point in the past few weeks, thank you! If you haven’t done it yet, we still need you!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Senate Bill 1061 passed through the Environment Committee today. It is still threatening to blind vendors, but it has, at least, been modified in how it threatens our people.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Long story short, the bill will now authorize an investigation of the profits that the blind vendors make and then seek bids from other entities, such as large vending companies, to see what kinds of profits they could potentially make.
With that information available, the legislature will then decide whether to continue to allow the Randolph-Sheppard vendors to continue operating in Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) facilities.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I give my thanks to Andrew Norton for briefing me on today’s events.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is my hope that we can defeat the threat that this bill presents. I am energized by my interactions with Environment Committee Co-Chair State Senator Ted Kennedy’s legislative aide, and I believe that we can win if we rise to the occasion.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some affiliates of the National Federation of the Blind have merchants’ divisions, and I bet that developing one here could really help us to rally around blind vendors’ issues like this one.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you need any help in getting in touch with your local legislators, I will be happy to help you.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Have a great weekend!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Justin Salisbury<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Justin Salisbury - Running Thunder Phoenix<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Graduate Student<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Louisiana Tech University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Email: <a href="mailto:President@Alumni.ECU.edu">
President@Alumni.ECU.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Twitter: @SalisburyJustin<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“One of the continuing themes that the majority culture never wants to hear is that the Indians want to be Indians.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ada Deer (Menominee), 1984<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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