[il-talk] Please Contact Senator Kirk!

[Rose Sloan]

Anil Lewis and the Policy and Advocacy team are respectfully asking for
your continued support to end the payment of subminimum wages to workers
with disabilities. Senate Bill S. 1356 has been introduced to reauthorize
the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).  This bill includes a major policy
change in the language of the Rehabilitation Act that threatens to send us
backwards in our struggle to repeal Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act.  This bill has proposed language in Section 511 of the
Rehabilitation Act that requires vocational rehabilitation agencies to
include training and employment at wages below the federal minimum wage as
a VR service.    ****

** **

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which
Senator Kirk is a member of, is scheduled to discuss and vote on this bill
on Wednesday, July 31, and we need to act to ensure that this tremendously
flawed proposal is removed.  Our initial action is simple, but it will
require all of us to take action.  We need all of our members, family
members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that reside in Illinois to
make calls, send emails, and post tweets and Facebook messages to
communicate the following straightforward request to Senator Kirk:****

** **

I am a voting constituent in Illinois, and I respectfully request that the
WIA reauthorization be amended to remove Section 511 of the Rehabilitation
Act.


Here is Senator Kirk's contact info:


Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)

(202) 224-2854****

Chief of Staff: Kate Dickens kate_dickens at kirk.senate.gov****

HELP Contact: Patrick Magnuson patrick_magnuson at kirk.senate.gov****

Additional Contact: Jeannette Windon jeannette_windon at kirk.senate.gov****

** **

Please contact me with any questions, and keep me posted on your progress.
The only way we will be able to prevent a dismantling of the essential
training and employment services for all people with disabilities is to act
now.  Remember, once you have made your calls, sent your emails, posted
your tweets and Facebook messages, get others to do the same.****

****


Thanks!


Rose Sloan

Assistant Legislative Director, NFB of Illinois

rosesloan920 at gmail.com