[NFBV-Announce] Access Technology Affordability Act S. 212

[tracy.soforenko at gmail.com]

Hi           Virginia Federationists,

We have been making tremendous progress in building support for the Access
Technology Affordability Act. 

 

In the Senate, based on our advocacy, Senator Warner has signed onto the
legislation. However, we have not yet convinced Senator Kaine to do the
same. John Pare and I have been talking about how to urge Senator Kaine to
join Senator Warner in support of this legislation. We are asking you to
help by sending an email today.

, I am asking you to reach out to Paul Lapointe in Senator Kaine's office to
ask for support of S 212.

 

 

Below is some sample language. Emails should be sent to Paul Lapointe,
paul_lapointe at kaine.senate.gov <mailto:paul_lapointe at kaine.senate.gov> . 

 

You can feel free to make personal adjustments to the below sample text and
definitely  provide your name and address at the bottom of the message.

 

This is what I sent to him this morning.

Hi Mr. Lapointe: 

 

The Access Technology Affordability Act (S. 212/H.R. 431) will put more
access technology in the hands of blind Americans thereby improving our
employment and educational opportunities. The bill does this by creating a
$2,000 refundable tax credit for use over a three year period for the
purchase of specialized access technology for the blind. Examples of
specialized access technology include: refreshable Braille displays, Braille
notetakers, Braille embossers, and screen reading software. 

 

On February 12, a team from  the National Federation of the Blind of
Virginia discussed this legislation with Stephanie Gibbs and Veda Beltran
from your office. They were  interested in this legislation, but it wasn't
part of their portfolio. We are  taking this time to specifically raise this
legislation with you for consideration.

 

 The sponsor is Senator Cardin and Senator Boozman is the lead cosponsor.
The Senate bill has 25 cosponsors with 113 cosponsors on the House bill.

 

Some of the cosponsors you are likely to recognize are:

 

Sen. Ron Wyden, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance

Sen. Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions

Sen. Jon Tester, Chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Sen. Jack Reed, Chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services

Sen. Mark Warner, Chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence

Sen. Patrick Leahy, President Pro Temp, Chair of the Senate Committee on
Appropriations

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations

Rep. Frank Pallone, Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Rep. John Yarmuth, Chair of the House Committee on Budget 

 

The sponsor of the House bill is Rep. Mike Thompson, the Chairman of the
Ways and Means subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. 

 

This language has been incorporated in the Reconciliation Package currently
moving through the House (Section 138519, starting on page 755).

 

According to the 2018 American Community Survey 69.1 percent of working age
blind Americans are either unemployed or underemployed. This legislation
would help blind students get the education they need, help blind workers
get full-time employment, and improve our overall self-sufficiency.

 

We would greatly appreciate it if Senator Kaine would cosponsor S. 212. To
do so please contact Ron Storhaug at  <mailto:Ron_Storhaug at sbc.senate.gov>
Ron_Storhaug at sbc.senate.gov.

 

Thank you so much,

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20210923/196a62d4/attachment.html>