[Nfb-hi] From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Wed Dec 20 15:05:30 UTC 2017

Aloha Kakahiaka, Dave:

I hope you have been receiving my previous emails.

I write on behalf of the Honolulu Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii to urge Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to join Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as a cosponsor of H.R. 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act.

This bill would increase the availability of Access Technology, thereby increasing educational and employment opportunities for all blind Americans. The bill does this by creating a tax credit for the purchase of access technology. The National Federation of the Blind has analyzed the cost impact, and the bill is either cost neutral or will save the government money.

We urge Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to cosponsor the bill. Will she?

Mahalo,

Justin Salisbury

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Thursday, December 07, 2017 2:11 AM
To: 'Dave.chun at mail.house.gov' <Dave.chun at mail.house.gov>; 'Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov' <Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov>
Cc: 'Anastacia Fong' <Anastacia808 at yahoo.com>; 'mserika_2006 at yahoo.com' <mserika_2006 at yahoo.com>; 'Dyllon Asami' <dakasami at gmail.com>; 'Ann Lemke' <lemke at hawaii.edu>; 'Doug and Charmaine Moises' <moifeva at aol.com>; 'Jove Abuhle' <jabuhle at gmail.com>; 'Brandon Young' <young.brandon4 at gmail.com>; 'rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com' <rachel.s.brandt at gmail.com>; 'Cassandra Certeza' <cmcerteza at gmail.com>; 'Shellford Cantan' <jrcantan at yahoo.com>; 'Katie Keim (I.C.E.)' <808keim at gmail.com>; 'Brenda Lucas' <bluca72 at gmail.com>; 'Tammy Rober' <snoopytdr at aol.com>; 'Stan Young' <SKYCOMHAWAII at msn.com>; 'shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com' <shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com>; 'shannon.cantan at gmail.com' <shannon.cantan at gmail.com>; 'Sally Hammond' <hammond.kona at yahoo.com>; 'Jonah Sniffen' <jksniffen at gmail.com>; 'Nani Fife' <nanifife at aol.com>; 'Michael Norton' <michael at tkprivee.com>; '247mjgerber at gmail.com' <247mjgerber at gmail.com>; 'David Maurer' <dmaurer68 at gmail.com>; 'Dean Georgeves' <dean.patriot at gmail.com>; 'nfb-hi at nfbnet.org' <nfb-hi at nfbnet.org>; jpare at nfb.org; 'makapaa1961 at gmail.com' <makapaa1961 at gmail.com>
Subject: RE: From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Aloha Kakahiaka, Dave:

I hope you have been receiving my previous emails.

I write on behalf of the Honolulu Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii to urge Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to join Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as a cosponsor of H.R. 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act.

This bill would increase the availability of Access Technology, thereby increasing educational and employment opportunities for all blind Americans. The bill does this by creating a tax credit for the purchase of access technology. The National Federation of the Blind has analyzed the cost impact, and the bill is either cost neutral or will save the government money.

We urge Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to cosponsor the bill.

Mahalo,

Justin Salisbury

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2017 5:45 PM
To: 'Dave.chun at mail.house.gov' <Dave.chun at mail.house.gov<mailto:Dave.chun at mail.house.gov>>; 'Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov' <Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov<mailto:Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov>>
Cc: 'Nani Fife' <nanifife at aol.com<mailto:nanifife at aol.com>>; 'Virgil Stinnett' <808virgil at gmail.com<mailto:808virgil at gmail.com>>; jpare at nfb.org<mailto:jpare at nfb.org>; 'shannon cantan' <shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com<mailto:shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com>>
Subject: RE: From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Aloha Dave,

I hope that you have been receiving my many messages.

Have you had an opportunity to discuss this bill with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard?

We would like to ask Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to join Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as a cosponsor of HR 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act. This bill will help blind people be able to afford some of the technologies that we need in order to be independent and contribute meaningfully in our community. It will offer a tax credit for low-income blind people who need to purchase these technologies, which will then help us increase our productivity and earning potential.

Could she please cosponsor this bill?

Mahalo,

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2017 6:48 AM
To: 'Dave.chun at mail.house.gov' <Dave.chun at mail.house.gov<mailto:Dave.chun at mail.house.gov>>; 'Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov' <Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov<mailto:Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov>>
Cc: 'Nani Fife' <nanifife at aol.com<mailto:nanifife at aol.com>>; 'Virgil Stinnett' <808virgil at gmail.com<mailto:808virgil at gmail.com>>; jpare at nfb.org<mailto:jpare at nfb.org>; shannon cantan <shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com<mailto:shannoncantan.nfb at gmail.com>>
Subject: RE: From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Aloha Dave,

I hope you are receiving my messages.

We would like to ask Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to join Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as a cosponsor of HR 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act. This bill will help blind people be able to afford some of the technologies that we need in order to be independent and contribute meaningfully in our community. It will offer a tax credit for low-income blind people who need to purchase these technologies, which will then help us increase our productivity and earning potential.

Could she please cosponsor this bill?

Mahalo,

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."

Cesar Chavez

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2017 8:29 PM
To: 'Dave.chun at mail.house.gov' <Dave.chun at mail.house.gov<mailto:Dave.chun at mail.house.gov>>; 'Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov' <Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov<mailto:Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov>>
Cc: 'Nani Fife' <nanifife at aol.com<mailto:nanifife at aol.com>>; 'Virgil Stinnett' <808virgil at gmail.com<mailto:808virgil at gmail.com>>; jpare at nfb.org<mailto:jpare at nfb.org>
Subject: RE: From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Aloha Dave,

It has been some time since I last contacted you. I had the pleasure of seeing Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at the Pupus and Politics fundraiser on Sunday night at the Bishop Museum. We did not get a chance to talk story, but I'm wondering if you have had that chance with her.

Is Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard interested in joining Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa as a cosponsor of HR 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act? This bill will help blind people be able to afford some of the technologies that we need in order to be independent and contribute meaningfully in our community.

Of course, in my previous email (below), I referenced a vast array of bills. I am eager for any updates which you may have to send my way!

Mahalo nui!

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

William Butler Yeats

From: Justin Salisbury
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2017 7:17 AM
To: 'Dave.chun at mail.house.gov' <Dave.chun at mail.house.gov<mailto:Dave.chun at mail.house.gov>>; 'Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov' <Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov<mailto:Adam.Schantz at mail.house.gov>>
Cc: Nani Fife <nanifife at aol.com<mailto:nanifife at aol.com>>; Virgil Stinnett <808virgil at gmail.com<mailto:808virgil at gmail.com>>; jpare at nfb.org<mailto:jpare at nfb.org>
Subject: From Oahu: Legislative Requests

Aloha Dave,

I write to ask Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for a few things to help the blind and other people with disabilities in Hawaii.

First of all, please convey to her my biggest mahalo for cosponsoring the Accessible Instructional Material in Higher Education Act, H.R. 1772 (AIM HIGH). I recently finished my master's, and I hope to attend a PhD program at UH soon. I know first-hand how important accessibility is in higher education.

I wish to ask Congresswoman Gabbard to cosponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act of 2017, H.R. 1734 (ATAA). As a blind person, there are often expensive forms of access technologies that I could buy in order to make myself more productive on the job or in the community. Often, since it's already so expensive to live on Oahu, the cost of these technologies puts them out of reach. This bill will help fix that.

I also wish to ask Congresswoman Gabbard to cosponsor the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act of 2017, H.R. 1377. The minimum wage does not apply to people with disabilities, and I interact on a daily basis with many who are paid substantially less than minimum wage. It is unfair that a person's disability can be used to pay them wages like $0.03 per hour. I wrote a resolution about this bill, which was passed by the Oahu County Democrats at our annual convention in April 2017. You can view that resolution here: https://www.oahudemocrats.org/resolutions.html#r10.

Lastly, I want to ask Congresswoman Gabbard to oppose HR 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act. This bill would allow companies in violation of the ADA to have an indefinite extension in order to become ADA compliant. The ADA is 25 years old, and we need these protections! They are no surprise to anybody, and we cannot allow anyone to deny them to us.

Could you please let me know where Congresswoman Gabbard stands on these issues? Could we please count on her cosponsorship and her opposition, as appropriate, on these bills?

Much mahalo in advance!

Aloha,

Justin Salisbury

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Legislative Committee Chair
Honolulu Chapter
National Federation of the Blind of Hawaii
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

William Butler Yeats