[New-york-news] News From New York State

[buffnfb at gmail.com]

Greetings Everyone;

               I want to introduce myself and the NEW executive committee of
the National Federation of the Blind of New York State and let you know what
we are working on.

               I'm Mike Robinson, President-elect of the affiliate.  I have
been an active NFB member for 29 years and have served as President of the
Buffalo, New York Chapter for the past 18 years.  I have served in just
about every office in the chapter as well as spending 10 years as
second-vice-president of the affiliate.  I make my home in the Buffalo
suburb of Tonawanda where Angie and I have raised 2 sons and are loving
grandparents to our 19 month Nova.

               I was elected President of the National Federation of the
Blind of New York State on November 19th, 2017 at our state convention after
Carl Jacobsen decided not to run for re-election.  Myself, and our new
Executive Board look to the future with excitement and encouragement. Carl
has pledged his advice to make my transition as smooth as possible.

               The other officers who were elected are:

                              Vice-President, Chancey Fleet

                              2nd Vice-President, Cayte Mendez

                              Secretary, Lucy Marr

                              Treasurer, Kate Carroll

               Right now, the Executive Committee is working hard to
understand the operation of the affiliate so we have a strong foundation on
which to build our state. I have traveled to Brooklyn, to our state office,
to learn all I can about our operation and, along with Kate, our Treasurer,
will be going to our National center in Baltimore to meet with Mr.
Riccobono, financial and Newsline people and others to gain a better
understanding of our operations.  Once we have a stronger understanding of
our state positions, then we will expand into programs, membership, chapter
building, and other endeavors.

 

Washington Seminar is coming up January 29 through February 1, 2017 at the
Holiday Inn Capitol, 550 C St. SW, Washington, DC 20024. The rate is $192.00
per night. This rate does not include DC sales tax, currently 14.8%.

You may begin booking reservations directly on line by using this link to
the Holiday Inn Capitol website 

http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates
<http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&loca
leCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505>
&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801
505

that will include our booking code. You may also make reservations by
calling 1 877-572-6951 and referencing booking code FB8.

Credit card information is needed at time of reservation. Individual
cancellation policy is seventy-two hours prior to date of arrival to avoid
one night's room plus tax cancellation charge on credit card provided. If
your departure date changes, you must inform the hotel seventy-two hours in
advance of departure to avoid a $100 fee.

The affiliate will help as much as we can but you need to contact me as soon
as possible. Also please let me know if you will be attending so we can
arrange teams. The affiliate is handling making appointments. The deadline
for room reservations is January 2nd.

 

We are working on securing a location for the Albany Seminar.  We have
decided not to use the hotel which hosted convention and are seeking
alternative accommodations.  We are also aiming for the last Sunday in
February, but this will depend on room availability.  Please look for
further emails with information about the Albany Seminar.

 

We had a recent scare with regards to the Federal Tax Bill, H.R. 1 (115),
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, (TCJZ).  We feared the proposed legislation would
eliminate funding for Vocational Rehabilitation programs, Medicare and
Medicaid and, as a result, endanger the jobs of hundreds of New Yorker's.
This turned out to not be the case as a waiver for the PAYGO program was
included in the final senate legislation.  Below is a statement regarding
the same:

Republican leaders are seeking to downplay the possibility that the GOP tax
bill would trigger massive spending cuts under an obscure Senate rule known
as PAYGO.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan released
a joint statement this afternoon assuring that Congress wouldn't actually
allow the across-the-board cuts to take place.

"This will not happen," McConnell and Ryan wrote, arguing that lawmakers
have "readily available methods to waive this law, which has never been
enforced since its enactment."

If the tax bill, H.R. 1 (115), is signed into law, both chambers would need
to agree to waive the decades-old Pay-As-You-Go rule to prevent the
triggering of $150 billion per year in cuts to a slew of federal programs,
including Medicare and student loans. 

GOP leaders have long been confident that they can strike a quick deal with
Democrats to waive the federally mandated slashing. 

"There is no reason to believe that Congress would not act again to prevent
a sequester, and we will work to ensure these spending cuts are prevented,"
McConnell and Ryan wrote today.

But at least eight Democrats would need to support that vote in the Senate.
And minority party lawmakers aren't making any promises they'll agree to
bail out Republicans amid the frantic push to clear the tax bill. 

A PAYGO waiver is likely to be included in a government funding bill this
month, according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who said she received a
personal assurance from McConnell this week that the cuts would be stifled. 

So, V.R. services are safe, for now, with respect to the federal tax cut.
We'll keep you up to date with future developments.

 

We need to increase our NEWSLINE subscriber base, so I propose a contest.
Whoever submits the most new applications for the service by February 16th
will receive a $150 Visa gift card.  The office must receive them by
February 16th and you should write your name on the back of each application
you send in. Feel free to contact me and I'll mail or email the application
to you.  So get out there and let's share the amazing NEWSLINE service with
as many people as we can.

 

I look forward to leading our state affiliate into a promising and exciting
future and encourage all of you to let me know your thoughts. I can be
reached by email at president at nfbny.org, By telephone at 716-222-3632
(716-222-3NFB) or by snail mail at 3014 Delaware Ave Suite 2, Kenmore, New
York 14217.

 

Let's get busy building the federation and making it possible for ALL of us
to Live the Lives we want.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mike Robinson

President

National Federation of the Blind of New York State

president at nfbny.org <mailto:president at nfbny.org> 

 

 

 

 

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