[IL-Talk] Your advocacy is Needed on NFB Legislation

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

Hello all,

It is time for us to get busy and contact our legislators. There are currently four pieces of legislation that have been introduced in the House of Representatives and two of those have companion Senate bills. So, Please reach out to your representative and Illinois’ two senators to ask them to cosponsor our legislation.

1.	Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act (TCEI)

On July 24, 2025, S. 2438 was introduced in the Senate by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) with three originating cosponsors: Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). There are no other cosponsors.

The companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 25, as H.R. 4771 by Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA-3) with one originating cosponsor: Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX-17). There are no other cosponsors.

This bill would eliminate Section 14(C)(3)of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows for the payment of subminimum wages.

2.	The Blind Americans Return to Work Act was introduced on February 10, as H.R. 1175 by Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX-17) and co-led by Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7). There are 18 cosponsors including the two original sponsors.

This bill would eliminate the earnings cliff under the Social Security Disability Insurance program.

3.	The Access Technology Affordability act, H.R.  1529

This bill was introduced in the House on February 24, 2025 by Mike Kelly (R‑PA‑).

The bill has 29 cosponsors including Darin LaHood (R. IL) and Mike Bost, (R. IL). If you live in Rep. LaHood’s or Rep. Bost’s district, please reach out by email or phone to say thank you.

Senate 1918 was introduced on May 22 by Senator John Boozman (R. AR).

There are three additional cosponsors.

This bill would provide a tax credit for blind and low vision people to purchase assistive technology.

If you have difficulty locating contact information for your representative or the two Senators, please reach out to Dustin Cather or myself, Denise Avant.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

4.	The Website and Software application Accessibility Act, H.R. 3417 was introduced on May 14 by Representative Pete Sessions (Texas) and lead cosponsor Representative Steny Hoyer (Maryland).   There are four additional cosponsors for a total of six.

This legislation seeks to eliminate persistent digital accessibility barriers faced by blind and disabled Americans.