[Nfbmo] Action Needed

[Roger Crome]

Good afternoon my friends:
I hope everyone is having a good Veterans Day weekend.  For those of you that served and those of you that have lost loved ones serving our great country, thank you for your service and sacrifice.  Amidst the political differences and challenges of our times, it is important to remember that the reason we have the ability to state our opinions openly and with passion is the great sacrifice given by those service members and their families. So, again, thank you.

Now, we have a.new challenge to face in Congress.  Congress is moving quickly to address tax reform.  HR 1 is the US House of Representatives tax bill, and it is moving quickly.   A threat directed at the nation’s blind is a provision to remove the additional $1,550 deduction for a blind person. This deduction is to accommodate for additional costs like dog guide care, driver costs and assistive technology to name a few.  We are asking that you contact your members of congress and ask them to restore this deduction and to support any legislation that adds the affordable assistive technology provisions outlined in S 732.  The Senate also has initiated tax reform legislation, and the Senate’s bersion does not attack the additional deduction for the blind.  So, this is a piece of good news.

Please be vigilant and learn what you can about current proposals.  There are some very concerning aspects to the current tax reforms in favor of corporations and the nation’s wealthy.  Unfortunately, middle America will potentially lose some important deductable benefits.  Since this Action Alert is not about these aspects, I will leave it at that.

Thank you for all you do.
Roger Crome
Chair Governmental Affairs NFBMO

Sent from my iPhone