[Nfbv-announce] 2 Quick Calls to Advance Our Legislative Priorities

Tue Sep 11 21:52:52 UTC 2018

>From Tracy Soforenko, President 

Hi Virginia Federationists, 

We are asking you to make 2 quick phone calls during the business day this week.

 A) call Virginia Congressman Goodlatte's office to get the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Language discharged and on the House Suspension Calendar. Phone numbers and details are provided below. 

B) Call Your House Member to ask them to support the Access Technology Affordability Act (AARTA). Details on the Access Technology Affordability act are below and greater detail can be found at: https://nfb.org/access-technology-affordability-act

 If you do not know your member of the House of Representatives, there is a really simple search tool found at: www.house.gov. With your address, the tool provides your member of the House of representatives.

 Tracy Soforenko President, National Federation of the Blind of Virginia 

202 285-4595 Tracy.soforenko at gmail.com 

www.nfb.org www.nfbv.org 

National Federation of the Blind. 

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.

 -----Original Message----- From: NFBNet-Members-List On Behalf Of Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List Sent: Monday, September 10, 2018 2:11 PM To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Urgent Legislative Alert 9-10-2018 

Dear Fellow Federationists: 

We are at a critical point with two of our legislative priorities which need your immediate attention. First, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559) is sitting idle in the House Judiciary Committee. We need Chairman Goodlatte to discharge this bill and put it on the House suspension calendar for a vote. The Department of State will not ratify the treaty until the House of Representative passes this bill and the president signs it into law. This legislation is noncontroversial, supported by all relevant stakeholders, and was passed unanimously by the Senate on June 28. Please call Chairman Goodlatte at 202-225-5431 and urge him to "support blind Americans by putting the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, S. 2559, on the House suspension calendar." Note that Chairman Goodlatte's email web-form blocks any emails from outside his district, so please contact his office via phone. 

Our second topic is the Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734). We are up to 84 cosponsors in the House and 12 in the Senate. Special thanks to the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. Fourteen House members from Illinois and Senator Tammy Duckworth have cosponsored this legislation. You can contact your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard and asking for the office in question. The number is 202-224-3121. If you email your representative, please copy me at JPare at nfb.org. When you call or email, you might say something like the following: "Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent of [your representative]. I live in [city, state]. I am calling to urge [your representative] to cosponsor H.R. 1734, the Access Technology Affordability Act. This bill would increase the availability of Access Technology thereby increasing educational and employment opportunities for all blind Americans. The bill does this by creating a tax credit for the purchase of access technology. The National Federation of the Blind has analyzed the cost impact and the bill is either cost neutral or will save the government money. I urge [representative] to cosponsor the bill. Thanks." The 84 House cosponsors are listed below in alphabetical order by state. You do not need to contact your representative regarding ATAA if he or she is already on this list. In summary we are asking you to make two calls. One to Chairman Goodlatte regarding the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, and a second call to your representative regarding the Access Technology Affordability Act. If you have any questions I can be reached at 410-659-9314, extension 2218. Thanks, John Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734) Cosponsors Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3] Rep. O'Halleran, Tom [D-AZ-1] Rep. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ-9] Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46] Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-10] Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32] Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40] Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-41] Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1] Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] Rep. Curbelo, Carlos [R-FL-26] Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10] Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1] Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20] Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. [D-FL-5] Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-18] Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-8] Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R-FL-27] Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2] Rep. Hanabusa, Colleen [D-HI-1] Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12] Rep. Bustos, Cheri [D-IL-17] Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] Rep. Davis, Rodney [R-IL-13] Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11] Rep. Gutierrez, Luis V. [D-IL-4] Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2] Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-18] Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] Rep. Roskam, Peter J. [R-IL-6] Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1] Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] Rep. Brooks, Susan W. [R-IN-5] Rep. Messer, Luke [R-IN-6] Rep. Visclosky, Peter J. [D-IN-1] Rep. Blum, Rod [R-IA-1] Rep. Loebsack, David [D-IA-2] Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3] Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] Rep. Yarmuth, John A. [D-KY-3] Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2] Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2] Rep. Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-7] Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] Rep. Tsongas, Niki [D-MA-3] Rep. Kildee, Daniel T. [D-MI-5] Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6] Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5] Rep. Nolan, Richard M. [D-MN-8] Rep. Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN-7] Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] Rep. Kihuen, Ruben J. [D-NV-4] Rep. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV-3] Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] Rep. Faso, John J. [R-NY-19] Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2] Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4] Rep. Joyce, David P. [R-OH-14] Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13] Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-2] Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7] Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16] Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-5] Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] Rep. Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX-30] Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16] Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-32] Rep. Garrett, Thomas A., Jr. [R-VA-5] Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] John G. Paré Jr. Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy 200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 (410) 659-9314, extension 2218 | jpare at nfb.org [National Federation of the Blind] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Youtube] 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. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. 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