[NFBOH-Cleveland] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] November 15, 2017 Legislative Alert and Washington Seminar

Thu Nov 16 04:37:22 UTC 2017

From: NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2017 9:35 PM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] November 15, 2017 Legislative Alert and
Washington Seminar

Dear Fellow Federationists:

Thank you for all of your calls and emails regarding the elimination of the
increased standard deduction for blind people.
So, here is where we stand as of today (Wednesday, November 15). The House
bill has gone to the House floor and will most likely be voted on and passed
tomorrow, November 16. It eliminates the additional standard deduction for
the blind. The Senate Committee on Finance is currently debating the Senate
version of the bill. The Senate version does not modify the existing
additional standard deduction for the blind. The next key step will be when
the Senate bill goes to the floor of the Senate for a final vote. It is
possible that Senator Boozman will be permitted to offer an amendment to
include the Access Technology Affordability Act in the Senate’s version of
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This is what we have been hoping for since
January. The number one thing we can do to help this effort is to add
cosponsors to the Access Technology Affordability Act in the Senate (S.
732). There are currently three cosponsors on the bill, Senators Cardin and
Van Hollen from Maryland and Senator Coons from Delaware. Therefore, please
call or email your two senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 732, the
Access Technology Affordability Act of 2017. The best way to contact your
senators is to call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for
the office in question. If you email your senators, please copy me at
JPare at nfb.org <mailto:JPare at nfb.org> .
In other news, we are expecting the Accessible Instructional Materials in
Higher Education bill to be introduced in the Senate in the very near
future. Also, I have received some questions regarding hotel reservations
for Washington Seminar. The following information is published in the
November 2017 issue of the Braille Monitor
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1710/bm171010.htm> .
Washington Seminar will be held January 28 through February 1, 2018, with
the Great Gathering-In taking place on Monday, January 29. You can now
reserve a room at the Holiday Inn Capitol (550 C Street, SW, Washington, DC
20024) for Washington Seminar for check-in beginning Friday, January 26, and
check-out Friday, February 2. The rate is $192.00 per night; this rate does
not include DC sales tax, which is currently 14.8 percent. You may begin
booking reservations directly online by clicking on the weblink below:
http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates
<http://ichotelsgroup.com/redirect?path=rates&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&loca
leCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801505>
&brandCode=HI&regionCode=1&localeCode=en&GPC=FB8&hotelCode=WASSM&_PMID=99801
505 .
You may also make reservations by calling (877) 572-6951 and referencing
booking code FB8. Credit card information is needed at time of reservation.
Individual cancellation policy requires notification seventy-two hours prior
to date of arrival to avoid one night's room plus tax cancellation charge on
the credit card provided. If your departure date changes, you must inform
the hotel seventy-two hours in advance of departure to avoid a $100 fee;
call (877) 572-6951 and reference your confirmation number. Please obtain a
cancellation number when cancelling a reservation. The firm deadline date to
make a reservation is Tuesday, January 2, 2018. Reservation requests
received after the deadline date will be subject to availability and
prevailing rate.
Warm regards,

John

John G. ParÃ© Jr. 
Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy 
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, extension 2218 | jpare at nfb.org <mailto:jpare at nfb.org>  

 <https://nfb.org/> 

<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>      <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> 

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. 

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