[Nfbc-info] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] November 15, 2017 Legislative Alert and Washington Seminar

[Shannon Dillon]

Good morning,
Please call or email your two senators
and urge them to cosponsor S. 732, the Access
Technology Affordability Act of 2017. Please see John Pare's message
with information and directions below. Please make calls regarding S
732.
Thanks.
Shannon

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List" <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 20:34:33 -0600
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] November 15, 2017 Legislative Alert and
Washington Seminar
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org


Dear Fellow Federationists:

Thank you for all of your calls and emails
regarding the elimination of the increased standard deduction for blind people.
So, here is where we stand as of today
(Wednesday, November 15). The House bill has gone
to the House floor and will most likely be voted
on and passed tomorrow, November 16. It
eliminates the additional standard deduction for
the blind. The Senate Committee on Finance is
currently debating the Senate version of the
bill. The Senate version does not modify the
existing additional standard deduction for the
blind. The next key step will be when the Senate
bill goes to the floor of the Senate for a final
vote. It is possible that Senator Boozman will be
permitted to offer an amendment to include the
Access Technology Affordability Act in the
Senate’s version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
This is what we have been hoping for since
January. The number one thing we can do to help
this effort is to add cosponsors to the Access
Technology Affordability Act in the Senate (S.
732). There are currently three cosponsors on the
bill, Senators Cardin and Van Hollen from
Maryland and Senator Coons from Delaware.
Therefore, please call or email your two senators
and urge them to cosponsor S. 732, the Access
Technology Affordability Act of 2017. The best
way to contact your senators is to call the
Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for
the office in question. If you email your
senators, please copy me at <mailto:JPare at nfb.org>JPare at nfb.org.
In other news, we are expecting the Accessible
Instructional Materials in Higher Education bill
to be introduced in the Senate in the very near
future. Also, I have received some questions
regarding hotel reservations for Washington
Seminar. The following information is published
in the
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1710/bm171010.htm>November
2017 issue of the Braille Monitor.
Washington Seminar will be held January 28
through February 1, 2018, with the Great
Gathering-In taking place on Monday, January 29.
You can now reserve a room at the Holiday Inn
Capitol (550 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024)
for Washington Seminar for check-in beginning
Friday, January 26, and check-out Friday,
February 2. The rate is $192.00 per night; this
rate does not include DC sales tax, which is
currently 14.8 percent. You may begin booking
reservations directly online by clicking on the
weblink below:
<http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505>http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505.
You may also make reservations by calling (877)
572-6951 and referencing booking code FB8. Credit
card information is needed at time of
reservation. Individual cancellation policy
requires notification seventy-two hours prior to
date of arrival to avoid one night's room plus
tax cancellation charge on the 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; call
(877) 572-6951 and reference your confirmation
number. Please obtain a cancellation number when
cancelling a reservation. The firm deadline date
to make a reservation is Tuesday, January 2,
2018. Reservation requests received after the
deadline date will be subject to availability and prevailing rate.
Warm regards,

John

John G. Paré Jr.
Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, extension 2218 | <mailto:jpare at nfb.org>jpare at nfb.org


<https://nfb.org/>
National Federation of the Blind


                          <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
Facebook
     <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>
Twitter
     <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>
Youtube


The National Federation of the Blind is a
community of members and friends who believe in
the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every
day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.







-- 
SHANNON L. DILLON