[Nfbofnc] Fw: TEACH BILLS blitz

Mon Jun 23 16:08:28 UTC 2014

Just making sure everyone gets this - can[t take any chances!  Thank you for your patience!

Sharon Newton
Legislative Committee
----- Original Message ----- 
From: sharon_newton 
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Sent: Monday, June 23, 2014 10:11 AM
Subject: TEACH BILLS blitz

Hello Everyone!

National wants us to "blitz" our Republican Congress in the House and Senate concerning the TEACH bills:  Here are the emal addresses for the education aides in each office, and Luaren's comments on some of these.  As she says below, she has visited all these offices.  She has "paved the way".  It is our turn now to convince our Republican reps to cosponsor TEACH.
We in NC need to work especially hard concerning Virginia Foxx and Richard Hudson because they are on the House Education Committee.  This Committee has a big influence on whether or not a bill moves forward to the next step.  If you would like to call, please use the main Capital number 202-224-3121 and ask to be transferred to the office you want.  Please also save this email for future reference for contact s and info!   

Also, please begin making appointments with our Congressional aides in our "local offices" .  If you do not know your Congress person's local office call the Washington D.C. area, and they can tell you the address and phone number for the office.  Appointments are generally easy to get -especially with the aide in that office who handles education.  Ask for an appointment first with the Congress person, but if you cannot snap him or her, the aide is the next  best.  These appointments "up close and personal" give a "face" to the issue, and make the issue harder to ignore.  Students, we especially need your experiences, which TEACH is designed to fix.  If the office is not in your home town, you and the aide can probably close a convenient place for you all to meet such as a nice, quiet restaurant, for example.  They cover around 20 counties each so they are use to driving all over the place.  If you have questions or concerns please call me 704-334-8758.  

Thank you all for everything you do.  Each and every action counts!

Sincerely,

Sharon Newton

Contact info from Lauren:

Here are the education staffers. Just an FYI – I have actually already met with every single one of these offices. So not only is there little left for me to do, but a lot of communication from NC is actually all that is necessary to nudge them to come on the bill. Coble and McHenry have already cosponsored, so don’t forget to mention that. I hope you guys can make a blitz happen. Thanks, Sharon! 

In the Senate, your Republican Senator is Richard Burr and his staffer is Chris Toppings at Chris_toppings at burr.senate.gov.

In the House:

*Virginia Foxx - leslie.goodman at mail.house.gov, Chairwoman of the subcommittee 

*Richard Hudson - paul.horne at mail.house.gov, on the Committee 

Renee Elmers - adam.wood at mail.house.gov

Robert Pittenger - michelle.jelnicky at mail.house.gov 

Walter B. Jones - bradley.ryon at mail.house.gov. FYI we just met with Brad last week and he was super friendly and receptive so I would keep these communications light, meaning no need to beat them over the head with a lengthy email.

Mark Meadows - patrick.fleming at mail.house.gov 

George Holding - jason.cooke at mail.house.gov 

Below is Lauren's very informative letter about TEACH.  It is well worth reading.  It gives us many points to use -especially when talking with a Republican.

Hi Friends,

We are running a itz, where everybody contacts the Republican members of Congress from their state delegation and urges them to cosponsor the TEACH Act, H.R. 3505 and S. 2060. The goal is to get a huge influx of cosponsors. 

This is a pivotal time. The TEACH Act is non-controversial, but the upcoming elections will limit our opportunities to pass the bill this Congress. We truly believe this bill has a chance, so we are going to take a real shot at trying to get this done. Consequently, we’re planning an important meeting with a higher education association to bring the schools on board, and then plan to meet with the Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee to explore about our options. We want to go into that meeting with the most cosponsors as possible, particularly from the majority party. Currently, H.R. 3505 has forty-two, with fifteen Republicans, twenty-seven Democrats. If we can get thirteen more Republicans we will be at fifty-five cosponsors and have an almost-even twenty-eight/twenty-seven breakdown. S. 2060 just got two new cosponsors, Senators Bennet and Ayotte. We are at an even two and two (for a total of four) and even though the Democrats are the majority party in the Senate, we already have a few waiting in the wings. We want to keep it even and won’t send them on until we secure a few more Republicans. Let’s build on this momentum! 

A few things to note:
1) This is a BLITZ. That means we need lots of people to send lots of emails, not just one or two people. Even if it’s not your member of Congress, if they are a Republican in your state delegation, email them! Let’s make it a digital version of the Washington Seminar, but just limited to the Republican offices. 
2) Send your correspondence to the education staffer. If you don’t know who the education staffer is, just call the office and ask, or shoot me an email. 
3) Know your audience. Some things are universal to advocacy, like telling your personal story and explaining what the bill does, but the points you emphasize to a Democrat might not be the best points to emphasize to a Republican. For the TEACH Act, it’s best to emphasize how the guidelines are voluntary, that we are trying to help schools better comply with the law and avoid litigation, which in turn helps blind students, and that the industry supports the bill. 
4) Personalize your letters. Offices know a block/form letter when they see one. I’ve provided a sample letter below, but please make edits before sending. If you’re from a state where a particular school has faced a lawsuit related to this, add it in. If another Republican from your state has cosponsored, mention it. 
5) Feel free to tweet or call, but in addition to emails rather than as a substitute. Some sample tweets: “Blind students need access to materials, help spur the market! Cosponsor the #TEACH Act” or “Blind students are being left behind and schools are being sued. The #TEACH Act is an easy fix. Will you cosponsor?” or “When blind students get to college, we need books. Publishers support the #TEACH Act, do you?” or “Congressman X and Congressman X have cosponsored the #TEACH Act. Join your delegation!” or even “Support Mr. Petri before he retires by cosponsoring #TEACH Act, a bill that improves access for the blind in higher ed!” 

I’ll be sending out reminders periodically next week. I hope everyone can help us reach our goal and we can increase the chances of passing the TEACH Act. Let’s face it, not only is the bill non-controversial, but blind students cannot afford to wait. Thanks guys!

Cheers,
Lauren 

Sample letter:

Hello [Education Staffer’s first name],

I am writing on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of [your affiliate]. We last met with your office in January to discuss our legislative agenda, and one of those bills was the Technology, Education and Accessibility in College and Higher Education (TEACH) Act, H.R. 3505/S.2060. It has been a few months so I wanted to circle back and ask that Congressman/Congresswoman [Name] will come on as a cosponsor. The bill is non-controversial and bipartisan – can we count on [his/her] support?

A quick reminder: Inaccessible educational technology is creating profound barriers to education for students with disabilities. The TEACH Act authorizes the creation of voluntary accessibility guidelines for instructional material so that those materials are usable by students with print disabilities, and then incentivizes schools to use technology that conforms to the guidelines with a safe harbor from litigation. The goal of the guidelines is to facilitate the equal access mandates that require schools to use accessible materials by stimulating the creation of a viable digital marketplace. By facilitating the national mandate and the national market, we can provide equal access for blind students without infringing on states’ rights. This bill is appealing to those on both sides of the aisle, is endorsed by a major industry group, and is supported by data from a Congressionally-authorized study. The TEACH Act does not create any new liability for schools or create any mandates on technology companies, and reduces costs and litigation while still making systemic change for blind students. [H.R. 3505/S. 2060] is sponsored by [Tom Petri in the House/our Republican leader is Orrin Hatch] – will your boss join them as a cosponsor? 

Over 160,000 people, many from our state, have signed this petition on Change.org, http://www.change.org/petitions/pass-teach-act-equal-access-to-educational-materials-for-students-with-disabilities , showing widespread support for this modest approach to a disgraceful problem. Blind students can’t afford to wait, so please let me know if there are questions. For more information, please visit https://nfb.org/TEACH . Thanks, hope to hear from you!

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Lauren McLarney
Government Affairs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
410.659.9314 ext. 2207
LMcLarney at nfb.org

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

s 