[IABS-Talk] FW: Legislative Alert

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

Good Morning all,

We have an additional legislative alert update on Senator Thune's amendment.
It is likely  that it will be brought up tomorrow, Thursday. So your emails
and calls are crucial. The bill has a new name. It is United Sates
Innovation and Competition Act.

If you haven't already done so, please contact Senators Shumer, Peters,
Durbin and Duckworth. The information is in the forwarded email from
yesterday. 

Thank you.

 

 

Denise Avant, ESQ

1st Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

For more information about NFBI,

Go to www.nfbofillinois.org

 

From: davant1958 at gmail.com <davant1958 at gmail.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2021 11:39 AM
To: 'NFB of Illinois Mailing List' <il-talk at nfbnet.org>; Illinois
Association of Blind Students List <iabs-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: John Pare <JPare at NFB.ORG>; 'Dustin Cather' <cather.dustin at gmail.com>
Subject: Legislative Alert 

 

Good Morning Fellow Federationists:

We have a legislative alert from John Pare. Our national office is asking us
to help gather support of an amendment to the Endless Frontier Act that
would benefit blind people. Because the amendment is critical to our ability
to use automated vehicles, we're asking you to write not only to Senator
Duckworth and Senator Durbin but also to Senator Schumer, the Senate
Majority Leader from New York  and Senator Peters of Michigan. The vote to
include the amendment will be close and it is important that we enlist the
votes of our senators and Senators Schumer and Peters. 

When you write or call, you might say something like:

"Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent of [SENATOR NAME]. I
live in [CITY, STATE]. I would like to urge [SENATOR NAME] to support
Senator Thune's automated vehicles amendment to the Endless Frontier Act.
The amendment contains two provisions that would benefit blind people. The
first would create an exemption classification for manufacturers who provide
transportation access for individuals with disabilities as long as the
vehicle was equivalently safe to a non-exempt vehicle. The second would
prohibit a state from issuing an operator's license for the use of a highly
automated vehicle in a manner that discriminates on the basis of disability.
Together, these two amendments will ensure that blind Americans are able to
reap the rewards of highly automated vehicles. Thanks."

Here is the contact information for the key players

The contact in Senator Schumer's office is Meghan Taira,
meghan_taira at schumer.senate.gov <mailto:meghan_taira at schumer.senate.gov> . 

 

The contact in Senator Peters's office is Catherine Barrett,
catherine_barrett at peters.senate.gov
<mailto:catherine_barrett at peters.senate.gov> . 

 

The contacts for Senator Duckworth and Senator Durbin are:

 

Mark Copeland - Sen. Tammy Duckworth mark_copeland at duckworth.senate.gov
<mailto:mark_copeland at duckworth.senate.gov>  

Kevin Lefeber - Sen. Richard Durbin  IL kevin_lefeber at durbin.senate.gov
<mailto:kevin_lefeber at durbin.senate.gov> 

 

 

Denise Avant, ESQ

1st Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

For more information about NFBI,

Go to www.nfbofillinois.org <http://www.nfbofillinois.org>