[NFBMT] Legislative Priorities Announced for 118th Congress and for 2023 Washington Seminar

[BRUCE&JOY BRESLAUER]

Hello, Montana Federationists.

 

The Office of Advocacy and Policy for the National Federation of the Blind
has provided information regarding the three legislative priorities for the
upcoming Washington Seminar and for the start of the 118th Congress. We
eagerly await this exciting announcement each December, and so I am glad to
be able to provide you with the information as it currently stands.

 

Two of the three bills are familiar to us already and the third is new to us.
The issues are:

 

1.	Website and Software Applications Accessibility Act
2.	Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act
3.	Eliminating the "Earnings Cliff" for SSDI.

 

Fact sheets for these three prospective pieces of legislation are being
developed and should be released sometime around January 6th, 2023. Although
the fact sheets for the Medical and Website bills will most likely look a bit
differently than they did in the 117th Congress, it might be helpful to read
over them again. Remember too that the bills will have new House and Senate
bill numbers once they are reintroduced.

 

As for the Access Technology Affordability Act, we are watching carefully the
proceedings for the omnibus and tax extension bills working there way through
Congress this month. We are hopeful that the ATAA will be included in the
large package of bills that may come up for a vote before the 118th Congress
adjourns. If the ATAA does not get passed into law this year, we are hopeful
we will see it again sometime in early 2023 and can recapture the tremendous
amount of support it currently has.

 

I hope that this information has been helpful to you and I look forward to
sharing more soon.

 

Respectfully,

Joy Breslauer, Advocacy and Public Policy Committee Chair

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site:  <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> http://www.nfbofmt.org

 

Live the life you want

 

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.