[NFBP-Talk] legislative assistance needed

Mon May 5 18:51:48 UTC 2025

Will accomplish this task May 6, 2025.
/dj

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

On Monday, May 5, 2025, 12:26 PM, Michelle McManus via NFBP-Talk <nfbp-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

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Hello All,

We need everyone’s assistance in contacting your representative in congress before May 9.  Please see message below with more details.  Please email me at my current email with any questions.

michelleandremy at gmail.com

If you need congressional contact info please ask.  I am unable to send the attachment through the list.  Thank you.

Michelle

Dear Federation Family:

The House of Representatives is working on the tax package. They hope to have it completed in the next month or two. This is a golden opportunity to get the Access Technology Affordability Act enacted into law, but we need to move fast. 

As a quick reminder, the Access Technology Affordability Act would create a $2,000 refundable tax credit for use over a three-year period for the purchase of access technology. This credit would help put more access technology in the hands of blind people thereby helping us learn, work, and live the lives we want.

Mathematica, a well respected economic forecasting company, has evaluated the bill and estimate it will save the federal government $315 million over a five-year period. This cost savings is achieved by the increased number of blind people who will be working thereby lowering the number of people collecting benefits and increasing the number of people paying federal and FICA taxes.

This is a beneficial all around. We get more of the access technology we need, more blind people are able to transition to work, the federal government saves money, and we contribute to the growth of the American economy.

Rep. Mike Kelly, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Tax, is the sponsor of our bill. Rep. Mike Thompson, who is the ranking member of the same subcommittee is the lead cosponsor. We currently have nineteen cosponsors including several members of the full Ways and Means committee. 

But, the competition to get into the tax package is fierce. We are not the only group that realizes what a great opportunity this is. One of the primary ways that bills will be evaluated for inclusion in the tax package is cosponsor support. That is where all of us come into play. If your Representative has not already cosponsored the Access Technology Affordability Act, H.R. 1529, (list of cosponsors is included below) then I urge you to email or call your Representative and urge them to cosponsor the bill. If you have already done this, but they have not yet cosponsored, then I urge you to contact them again. We need all hands on deck for this effort, so even if you’ve never called your member of Congress before, this is the perfect time to make your first call or send your first email. Remember, the best advocacy is polite, persuasive, and persistent. 

When you email or call your Representative, you might say something like:

“My name is (your name) and I am a constituent of Representative (Representative’s name).Please cosponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act, H.R. 1529. This bill would help put more access technology in the hands of blind Americans. It does this by creating a $2,000 refundable tax credit for blind people for the purchase of specialized access technology. As a blind person myself, I know how important access technology is. As just one example, it could enable a blind person to search for a job, apply for a job, and then keep that job. In fact, Mathematica, a well-respected economic firm, has estimated that the bill will help more blind Americans work thereby saving the federal government $315 million over a five-year period. This bill will help your constituents, help the federal government save money, and help the American economy. I would be extremely appreciative if you would consider cosponsoring this bill.”

Attached is a list of each legislative director for each Representative sorted by state. The list includes the legislative director’s name and email address. I recommend you email that person, but you could also call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the office in question.

If you email, please copy Jesse Shirek at jshirek at nfb.org. If you have questions regarding the legislative point of contact, please email Lindsey Walsh at lwalsh at nfb.org.

If at all possible, please send your email on or before Friday, May 9.

Working together we will be successful!

Warm regards,

John

Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]

Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]               

Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]           

Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4]               

Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]          

Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]              

Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]        

Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]    

Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17]        

Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]     

Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12]            

Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-16]    

Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]  

Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]          

Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15]           

Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17]  

Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]               

Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]          

Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1]

John Paré

Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

410-659-9314, extension 2218 | jpare at nfb.org

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