[IL-Talk] Call to Action from our National Office

[Dustin Cather]

Greetings NFB of Illinois family,



I hope this message finds you all well. Our President, Marilyn Green has
named myself and Denise Avant as co-chairs for federal legislation. It
promises to be a busy year in 2021.

But first, we have a call to action from our national office to write to
your congressional representatives and to the Senators of our state
regarding the proposed COVID-19 relief bill. There is the possibility of a
liability waiver for small businesses.


We are concerned that this business liability relief may echo some of the
language contained   in Section 181 of the SAFE TO WORK Act, which
attempted to grant exemptions to ADA requirements during the pandemic. For
more information on the exemptions in question, please read President
Riccobono’s opposition letter to Senator Cornyn
<https://www.nfb.org/sites/www.nfb.org/files/files-pdf/safe-to-work-act-letter.pdf>.
The details of the new bill have not been finalized yet, which makes now
the perfect time for us to call or email to make sure Congress knows that
we will not stand for the erosion of our rights.

If these provisions were included in the COVID-19 legislation, they would
possibly affect the lives of people with disabilities across the country.


When you call or email your senators or representative you might say
something like:

“Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent of
[SENATOR/REPRESENTATIVE NAME]. I live in [CITY, STATE]. I strongly urge you
to ensure the rights of all disabled Americans are protected in the
upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation by maintaining the critical
protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Please do not
allow for any business liability exemptions that will erode the crucial
protections for disabled Americans set forth in the ADA. Thank you.”


You can contact your senators  and representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard and asking for the office in question. The number is
202-224-3121. If you email your members of Congress, please copy John Pare
at jpare at nfb.org and me Cather.dustin at gmail.com. Your calls and emails do
make a difference.


We recommend you call or email the legislative director in your member’s
office. If you need the name and email of the appropriate staff person for
any Senate or House office, please email Jesa Medders at jmedders at nfb.org or
myself at cather.dustin at gmail.com


Finally, , this is a reminder that the application to apply for Washington
Seminar is currently live.


To learn more about how to apply to be a part of the Illinois
affiliate during Washington Seminar. Please visit NFBI Washington Seminar
<https://www.nfbofillinois.org/washington-seminar>


Thanks for all you do.





Best,

Dustin Cather

NFB of Illinois Board Member