[nfbwatlk] A Blast from the Past

[Mike Freeman]

In view of the fact that the NFB of Washington Talk list is now a decade and
three months old, I thought it would be fun to reproduce some of the
messages from a decade ago.

If nothing else, it shows both the progress we've made and that we still
have a way to go.

In other words, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mike Freeman, president
NFB of Washington


-----Original Message-----
From: sysop at NFBnet.org [mailto:sysop at NFBnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2002 8:57 PM
To: Multiple recipients of NFBnet nfb of washington talk Mailing List
Subject: From The Washington Seminar



Hello listers!

This is being written after a successful first day on the Hill.  While we
have not encountered any "over-the-top" enthusiasm among congressional
staffers (the usual case when one doesn't see the senator or representative
himself/herself), there was positive interest in our presentations and I
believe that our issues will garner serious consideration.

This year as in the past several years, oneof our issues is to push for
passageof legislation raising the amount a blind SSDI recipient may earn
without loss of benefits to $30,000 over the next three years. Washington is
in good shape here as all but two representeatives (Larsen and Smith) are on
the House bill (HR-498) and Senator Patty Murray is on the Senate
equivalent, S-682. I believe that we will get Senator Cantwell on board
also.

Our second issue is advocacy of passing legislation allowing Part B Medicare
funds to be channeled through the state rehabilitation agency/agencies to
finance skills training and independent living services for older blind
citizens. The House bill has been introduced by Rep.
Martin Frost of TX; it is anticipated that a Senate equivalent will be
introduced shortly.  The House Bill number is HR-2674.  (There is another
bill, HR-2484, introduced by Rep. Kapuano, which would do somewhat the same
but which has serious drawbacks).
Our third issue is advocacy of legislation which would, among other things,
set up a mechanism to establish a universal electronic file format for
textbooks for grades K-12, require that textbook publishers furnish
electronic copies of all such textbooks in this file format and establish a
repository for such copies.  School Districts would then obtain these
electronic copies in a timely manner so that blind children would no longer
have to wait a geological era to get their texts.

The fact sheets for our issues are available on

http://www.nfb.org

under the "laws and legislation" link.

I'll give you another report after tomorrow's appointments.

Onward, comrades!

Mike Freeman <mikef at pacifier.com>
Amateur Radio: < K 7 U I J >


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