[NFBF-L] Fact Sheets for 2022 NFB Washington Seminar - 1 of 4 - ATAA

Wed Jan 19 04:09:51 UTC 2022

Hello everyone,

I learned that this previous sent email never made it out of my computer. I
think I have corrected the outbox issues and am going to try and send this
info to you again.

Please forgive any duplicate emails with this subject and attachment.

Sincerely,

Russ

From: Russell Davis [mailto:russell at radiorusty.com] 
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2022 2:23 PM
To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org; nfbf-leaders at nfbnet.org
Subject: Fact Sheets for 2022 NFB Washington Seminar - 1 of 4 - ATAA

Hello everyone,

Please see attached the Access Technology Affordability Act fact sheet in
Microsoft Word format.

For your convenience, I’ve also pasted the text of the fact sheet to the
bottom of this email.

Please take the time to review the fact sheet as it will provide you with
valuable information about this bill.

Thanks so much for all you are doing to help move forward our mission and
our legislative efforts.

Respectfully,

Russ Davis,

Legislative Director, National Federaton of the Blind of Florida

Ph. 904-993-8433

Email: Russell at radiorusty.com

ACCESS TECHNOLOGY AFFORDABILITY ACT 
(H.R. 431/S. 212)

Issue—The cost of critically needed access technology is out of reach 
for most blind Americans.

The high cost of access technology creates a difficult economic reality.
Most access technology ranges from $1,000 to $6,000. For example, a leading
screen reader is $900, a popular Braille notetaker is $5,495, one model of a
refreshable Braille display is $2,795, and a moderately priced Braille
embosser is $3,695. According to the United States Census Bureau 69.1
percent of blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed.1
Consequently, most blind Americans do not have sufficient financial
resources needed to purchase these items.2 These financial barriers can
ultimately lead to a loss of employment, insufficient education, or even
isolation from community activities.

Medical insurance will not cover the cost of access technology. Current
definitions of "medical care," "medical necessity," and "durable medical
equipment" within common insurance policies do not include access
technology. These definitions were adopted in the 1960s “when medical care
was viewed primarily as curative and palliative, with little or no
consideration given to increasing an individual's functional status.”3 Many
states’ Medicaid programs and individual health insurance plans have adopted
similar definitions and likewise will not cover the cost of access
technology.4

Access technology enables blind Americans to participate in today’s
workforce. Blindness is well-defined and measurable,5 but affects each
person differently and at different ages. Since individuals’ needs differ,
manufacturers have designed various tools that enable each blind American to
perform tasks that they were once unable to accomplish themselves due to
their blindness. Braille notetakers are frequently used in schools,
screen-reading software allows workers to check their email at home, and
screen-magnification software can help seniors losing vision learn about
community activities. Access technology equips blind Americans to seek
employment and stay employed. For the 69.1 percent of blind Americans who
are either unemployed or underemployed, it is a vehicle that facilitates the
job seeking process. Despite this critical need, public and private entities
struggle to meet consumer demand.6 This leads to untimely delays in the
delivery of necessary technology and ultimately harms the blind consumer.

Solution—Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 431/S. 212):

Makes access technology more affordable so that blind Americans can procure
these items for themselves. It establishes a refundable tax credit for blind
Americans in the amount of $2,000 to be used over a three-year period to
offset the cost of access technology. The credit created by the Access
Technology Affordability Act will sunset after five years and will be
indexed for inflation.

Provides flexibility for individuals to obtain access technology based upon
their specific needs. Accessibility requires an individualized assessment of
one’s own skills and needs. Therefore, blind Americans should be given the
opportunity to procure access technology on their own to ensure that they
are receiving the tools that are most useful for them.

Will increase federal income tax revenue. More blind Americans working means
more people paying taxes. It also means that those blind Americans who
obtain gainful employment through this tax credit will no longer need to
draw from federal programs such as Supplemental Security Income or Social
Security Disability Insurance and will instead be paying into the Social
Security Program. 

GOAL—IMPROVE AFFORDABILITY OF CRITICALLY NEEDED ACCESS TECHNOLOGY NECESSARY
FOR EMPLOYMENT AND INDEPENDENT LIVING.

Cosponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA)

To cosponsor the ATAA in the House of Representatives (H.R. 431), contact:

Crozer Connor, Senior Legislative Assistant for Congressman Mike Thompson
(D-CA) 
Phone: 202-225-3311, Email: crozer.connor at mail.house.gov

To cosponsor the ATAA in the Senate (S. 212), contact:

Ron Storhaug, Legislative Aide for Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)

Phone: 202-224-4524, Email:  <mailto:Ryan_Losak at boozman.senate.gov> R
<mailto:Ryan_Losak at boozman.senate.gov> on_Storhaug
<mailto:Ryan_Losak at boozman.senate.gov> @
<mailto:Ryan_Losak at boozman.senate.gov> sbc
<mailto:Ryan_Losak at boozman.senate.gov> .senate.gov

For more information, contact:

Jeff Kaloc, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind

Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2206, Email:  <mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org>
jkaloc at nfb.org, or visit  <http://www.nfb.org> www.nfb.org 

1 United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey. “The percentage of
non-institutionalized persons aged 21-64 years with a visual disability in
the United States who were employed full-time/full-year in 2018.” Compiled
by Cornell University.
<https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=4>
https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=4 

2 Erickson, W., Lee, C., von Schrader, S. (2016). "Disability Statistics
from the 2014 American Community Survey (ACS)." Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Employment and Disability Institute (EDI). Retrieved November 11,
2016, from  <http://www.disabilitystatistics.org>
www.disabilitystatistics.org 

3 National Council on Disability, “Federal Policy Barriers to Assistive
Technology,” (May 31, 2000) 8,
<http://www.ncd.gov/rawmedia_repository/c9e48e89_261b_4dda_bc74_203d5915519f
.pdf>
http://www.ncd.gov/rawmedia_repository/c9e48e89_261b_4dda_bc74_203d5915519f.
pdf 

4 Assistive Technology Industry Associates, “AT Resources Funding Guide,”
<https://www.atia.org/at-resources/what-is-at/resources-funding-guide/>
https://www.atia.org/at-resources/what-is-at/resources-funding-guide/ (last
accessed December 10, 2018).

5 See 26 U.S.C § 63(f)(4).

6 See e.g. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services and Disability
Research, “Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request,”
<https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget20/justifications/i-rehab.p
df>
https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget20/justifications/i-rehab.pd
f, p. I-50.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/attachments/20220118/29316d4c/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 129 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/attachments/20220118/29316d4c/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2022 ATAA - Fact Sheet - Final.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 118482 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/attachments/20220118/29316d4c/attachment.docx>