[NFBF-L] Link to Anil Lewis testimony at Sub minimum wages hearing - as promised...

Tue Jul 27 11:18:57 UTC 2021

Good morning everyone,

My apologies for the delay in getting this info out to you all, but the below information is still very relevant. Thanks also to Jada for reminding me to send this out.

On our Legislative Committee meeting last Thursday, we had discussed Anil Lewis’ testimony regarding sub-minimum wages and the long hoped for, phasing out of 14-c certificates. I along with seveal others had watched the hearings live on Wednesday, July 21st and found them vey interesting.

If you would like to echeck out the hearing, it has been archived on the web and is still available for on-demand viewing. The link to the hearing along with Anil’s written statement is listed below in an email from our Advocacy and Policy team in Baltimore. 

As mentioned in our meeting last week, there is silence at the beginning of the recording the actual audio content begins at about the 00:08:45 mark.

Hope you find this info as interesting as I did.

Another link for a hearing taking place on July 13th in the House will follow this email. That hearing dealt with the USPS delivery of Free Matter for the Blind issues.

Take good care,

Respectfully,

Russ Davis,

Legislative Director, National Federation of the Blind of Florida

Ph. 904-993-8433

Email: Russell at radiorusty.com

, 

From: NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2021 2:35 PM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert 7/20/21 - Subminimum Wages Hearing Tomorrow

Dear Federation Family:

Tomorrow (Wednesday, July 21) the US House Committee on Education and Labor will be hosting a joint subcommittee hearing with the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services on the topic of phasing out subminimum wages. Our very own Anil Lewis will testify on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind. We encourage you to watch Anil’s live testimony tomorrow at 10:15 a.m., eastern, by visiting https://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/phasing-out-subminimum-wages-supporting-the-transition-to-competitive-integrated-employment-for-workers-with-disabilities. 

We also encourage you to read Anil’s written testimony <https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements/anil-lewiss-written-testimony-joint-hearing-regarding>  on the Policy Statements page <https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements>  of nfb.org. Once you have read his testimony, please take just a few moments to forward it to your Representative in the House and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 2373, the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act. This bill will gradually phase out subminimum wages over a five-year period and eliminate the issuance of new Section 14(c) certificates. It will also establish a grant program to help states and entities transition employees with disabilities into competitive integrated employment. 

When you email your representative you might write something like:

"Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent of [REPRESENTATIVE NAME]. I live in [CITY, STATE]. I would like to urge [REPRESENTATIVE NAME] to cosponsor the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act, H.R. 2373. This legislation will gradually phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities and facilitate their transition to competitive integrated employment.

Thanks."

Again, we encourage you to include a link to Anil’s written testimony in your email. 

When you email your representative, please copy Stephanie Flynt at sflynt at nfb.org. Your calls and emails do make a difference.

It is best to email the relevant staff person in your representative's office. Please email Jesa Medders at jmedders at nfb.org and she will find the appropriate staff member for you to email.  

The bill currently has 16 cosponsors, but we are hoping that this hearing in conjunction with your advocacy can help dramatically increase the cosponsor count and boost Congressional awareness of this legislation. The list of current cosponsors is pasted below.

Thank you for all that you do,

John

Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R-WA-5]

Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]            

Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]             

Rep. Levin, Andy [D-MI-9]            

Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11]              

Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]      

Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4]       

Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1]   

Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5]          

Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]             

Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6]      

Rep. Joyce, John [R-PA-13]           

Rep. Axne, Cynthia [D-IA-3]         

Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]       

Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]          

Rep. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ-7]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/attachments/20210727/d643f143/attachment.html>