[NFBMI-Talk] Fwd: Important Announcement: contacting representatives regarding ATAA

[Robert Earl Parsons]

Greetings Michigan Students

Please read the below email message from Sam Flax, the Minnesota Student President. The Access Technology Affordability Act, which we advocated for at our Washington Seminar a few months ago, is being rolled into the stimulus bill and requrires the actions she outlines in the preceeding message. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Robert.E.Parsons at wmich.edu.

Thanks


Robert Parsons Jr.


Begin forwarded message:

From: Minnesota Association of Blind Students <students at nfbmn.org>
Date: May 30, 2020 at 4:00:24 AM EDT
To: NFBMN President <president at nfbmn.org>, k8tvv2 at gmail.com, president.nfb.mi at gmail.com, jessieshirek at gmail.com, gatorbumps at rushmore.com, lindsey.fritz9574 at gmail.com, johnfritz at gmail.com
Cc: Hunter Kuester <hunterkuester2 at gmail.com>, Robert Parsons <rob.parso3389 at gmail.com>
Subject: Important Announcement: contacting representatives regarding ATAA

Dear all,
I am writing to you on behalf of the NABS legislative and self-advocacy committee to ask that as student division and affiliate presidents if you could please send the following information regarding the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) to any students in your states that could help.

We need students in your state to contact both Senators and their individual Representative. This means that each student would contact three offices. We need as many students as possible to make these contacts because we need more legislators to sign onto the bill before they all return to DC on June 1. This means that we need to contact them right away so that they can learn about the bill, make decisions, and have their name added to it before June 1.

Below my signature is a draft email that you and other students in your state can use to ask your Senators and Representative to cosponsor the bill.

Could you please send such an email right away, as well as help me get in touch with all other blind students in your state?
Due to the fact that the bill will be introduced this coming week, the sooner students could call and email their representatives the better for getting this important legislation passed.


Thank you in advance!
Samantha Flax
President, Minnesota Association of Blind Students

Here is a template for students to use for their emails if they wish:
Dear ###,

I am one of your constituents from City, State. I write to respectfully request that my Senator/Congressman/Congresswoman co-sponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) (S. 815/H.R. 2086).

<give some background on yourself in order to establish rapport>

The cost of critically needed access technology is out of reach for most blind Americans. By providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying purchases, Congress will stimulate individual procurement of this technology and promote affordability of these tools. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many Americans to become much more dependent upon technology, which has exacerbated the challenges that blind students, job seekers, and employees were already facing.

This bill already has bicameral bipartisan support. S. 815 currently has 22 cosponsors, and H.R. 2086 currently has 91 cosponsors. I wish to see my Senator/Congresswoman/Congressman sign on as a cosponsor.

Will Senator/Congresswoman/Congressman #### please cosponsor this bill?

I have copied Jeff Kaloc jkaloc at nfb.org<mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org> with the National Federation of the Blind national office. He is available to answer any detailed questions you might have.

Thank you in advance,

Your Name
Your Address (where you vote)