[New-hampshire-students] See if this surprises you! Fw:SchedulingRequest

[trishs]

"In front of every good man is a good woman."

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com
>To: "'NFB of New Hampshire Student List'" 
<new-hampshire-students at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:31:35 -0500
>Subject: Re: [New-hampshire-students] See if this surprises you! 
Fw:SchedulingRequest

>Marie,

>I know it must be frustrating.  My contribution probably won't 
help that
>feeling, but having lobbied for the NFB for the past eight years, 
and having
>assisted with legislative campaigns for several anti-human 
trafficking
>organizations for the past three, I assure you meeting with a 
member of
>Congress is not everything it's chalked up to be.  Someone once 
said, rather
>ignorantly, that an organization should line up meetings with at 
least three
>senators to show just how influential the organization could be.  
Yet,
>considering Boys Scouts and other such groups meet with public 
officials
>regularly, I'm not entirely sure what criteria they were using to 
measure
>influence.

>Have you ever heard the saying that behind every man stands a 
good woman?
>Behind every good public official stands a good group of 
legislative aides.
>With few exceptions, I would prefer to meet with these aides, 
because it is
>they who balance the official's priorities.  It is they who 
conduct the
>research, write dear colleague letters, offer language revisions 
to pending
>legislation, things a representative or senator is too busy to 
figure out
>for him or herself.

>Now, I'm not saying that meeting with the real deal is not good.  
I'm just
>saying that the way you make those meetings productive is by 
finding your
>way to the top of their personal concerns by cultivating a strong
>relationship with the right aide.  Every time McCarthy and 
company issue one
>of their legislative alerts, be quick to forward that message 
along with a
>personal note of how it was good to see them in February and how 
this is a
>progress report on a piece of legislation they should really 
consider being
>a part of.  I would develop a distribution list in your e-mail 
client or a
>spreadsheet with the right contacts per congressional office and 
keep them
>regularly updated, not only of the legislative progress, but of 
your own
>affiliate's progress.  Invite them to your student functions, 
your state
>conventions.  Tell them about any scholarship opportunities you 
guys may be
>hosting.  In February you should use the opportunity to set the 
stage.  The
>rest of the year you spend your time building on that foundation.  
I think
>many affiliates enjoy Washington Seminar for the opportunity to 
come
>together and celebrate our legislative priorities, but few of 
them manage
>effective follow-up operations.

>Anyway, I hope this helps on some level.  This year may not turn 
out to be
>the year you meet with the representative, but next year I 
promise you will
>have gotten a lot closer to that opportunity through your efforts 
at
>introducing their office not just to the organization, but to its 
people.

>Best,

>Joe Orozco

>"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for 
humanity."--James M.
>Barrie
>-----Original Message-----
>From: new-hampshire-students-bounces at nfbnet.org
>[mailto:new-hampshire-students-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
Marie
>Johnson
>Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 7:26 PM
>To: New Hampshire NFB State Affiliate Board
>Cc: Student List
>Subject: [New-hampshire-students] See if this surprises you! Fw:
>SchedulingRequest

>Scheduling RequestBelow is a reply that I just received and 
thought I would
>share it with all of you for your feedback.
>As usual,  it comes as no shock to me to hear that he doesn't 
have the time
>nor the desire to meet with any of us for the 3rd year in a row.  
He hasn't
>supported the quiet car legislation either, so can someone, 
anyone, tell me
>who voted Hoad back into Congress and why they did so?
>Is it worth the trouble to meet with his aid and wonder if she 
even
>addresses our concerns with him?
>Should we chalk him up as a lost cause?
>Should the affiliate compose a letter of concern in regards to 
his
>indifference?


>----- Original Message -----
>From: Mayer, Jesse
>To: jomar2000 at comcast.net
>Cc: Levin, Sarah
>Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 3:45 PM
>Subject: Scheduling Request


>Hi Marie-


>Thank you for your request to meet with Congressman Paul Hodes.
>Unfortunately, due to the Congressman's hectic schedule, he will 
be
>unavailable for a meeting.  However, I am cc'ing the appropriate 
staff
>member, Sarah Levin, who can set up a meeting with you, and brief 
the
>Congressman at a later time.  Again, thank you for your request.

>Sincerely,

>Jesse





>    Hello Luke,

>    My name is Marie Johnson and I am the current President of 
the New
>Hampshire Affiliate of the National Federation of the  Blind.  We 
actually
>made connections last year for the purpose of scheduling our 
annual trip to
>Washington.

>    A group of us will be traveling to Washington again this year 
in hopes
>of  meeting with Congressman Hoad to present our concerns and 
seek his
>support.  I would like to schedule an appointment for Tuesday 
February 10.  I
>have pasted below a summary of the concerns we would like to 
discuss with
>the Congressman, for his convenience and reference.

>    I can be reached at either my home phone; 603 225-7917 or my 
cell phone
>number; 603 524-1945, or by email at   jomar2000 at comcast.net.



>    Thanks for your prompt attention to this request.  I look 
forward to
>hearing from you in the near future and greatly appreciate your 
time.



>    Marie Johnson, President

>    NFB NH State Affiliate





>    1.      We urge Congress to ensure the safety of blind and 
other
>pedestrians by passing the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.  
This
>legislation would require the U.S.  Secretary of Transportation 
to:

>      .        Begin a study within ninety days of its enactment 
to
>determine the most practical means of assuring that blind and 
other
>pedestrians receive essentially similar information to what they 
now receive
>from sound emitted by internal combustion engines;

>      .        Determine the minimum amount of sound necessary to 
offer
>sufficient information for blind pedestrians to make safe travel 
judgments
>based on appropriate scientific research and consultation with 
blind
>Americans and other affected groups;

>      .        Within two years of beginning the study, 
promulgate a motor
>vehicle safety standard to address the needs of blind and other 
pedestrians
>by requiring either a minimum level of sound or an equally 
effective means
>of providing the same information as is available from hearing 
internal
>combustion engines; and

>      .        Apply the standard to all motor vehicles 
manufactured or sold
>in the United States beginning no later than two years after the 
date it is
>promulgated.


>    2.      We urge Congress to work with blind Americans to 
create a
>Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind that mandates consumer 
electronics,
>home appliances, and office equipment to provide user interfaces 
that are
>accessible through nonvisual means.  This legislation should:


>      .        Mandate that all consumer electronics, home 
appliances, and
>office equipment be designed so that blind people can access the 
same
>functions as sighted people through nonvisual means and with 
substantially
>equivalent ease of use;


>      .        Create a commission comprised of essential 
stakeholders to
>establish standards for nonvisual accessibility of electronic 
devices
>intended for use in the home or office;

>        .        Endow the commission with enforcement powers or 
locate it
>within a government agency having such powers; and

>        .        Authorize it to reexamine and rewrite standards 
to keep
>pace with the evolution of consumer electronic technology.


>    3.      We urge Congress to promote and facilitate the 
transition by
>blind Americans from recipients of Social Security Disability 
Insurance
>benefits to income-earning, taxpaying, productive members of the 
American
>workforce by enacting legislation to:


>      .        Replace the monthly earnings penalty with a 
graduated 3-for-1
>phase-out (i.e., a $1 reduction in benefits for each $3 earned 
above the
>limit);


>      .        Replace the monthly earnings test with an 
annualized earnings
>test with an amount equal to twelve times.  Substantial Gainful 
Activity
>amount; and


>      .        Establish an impairment-related work expense 
deduction for
>blind Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries equal to 
the amount
>applicable for this deduction when determining an appropriate 
income subsidy
>under Medicare Part D or 16.3 percent of earnings, whichever is 
greater.





>###

>Jesse Mayer

>Congressman Paul W.  Hodes

>1317 Longworth House Office Building

>Washington, DC  20515

>202-225-5206 (p)

>202-225-2946 (f)

>Sign up for e-mail updates from Congressman Paul Hodes!

>_______________________________________________
>New-hampshire-students mailing list
>New-hampshire-students at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/new-hampshire-students_nfb
net.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
for
>New-hampshire-students:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/new-hampshire-students_nfbn
et.org/jsor
>ozco%40gmail.com


>_______________________________________________
>New-hampshire-students mailing list
>New-hampshire-students at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/new-hampshire-students_nfb
net.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info 
for New-hampshire-students:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/new-hampshire-students_nfbn
et.org/slosser%40metrocast.net