[Nyabs] legislation for consideration

[Katy Carroll]

Dear all,

Fist off, some went wrong in my transition to the new email listserv, and so
I wasn't getting emails form you guys for a little while. if anything was
sent out asking for a response, I apologize for not responding.

Secondly, i wanted to share some information with you that was passed along
to me by the NFB Government Programs Rep, Lauren McLarney. Lauren was
present at the last Washington Seminar and works very hard to get members of
Congress informed about the legislation supported by the NFb, and even gets
them to sign on as sponsors or co-sponsors of the various bills.

The NFB supported three different pieces of legislation at Washington
Seminar: the Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind, the Blind Persons
Return to Work Act, and the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.

In a nutshell, the Technology bill would require that all office technology,
kiosks, home appliances, etc. such as copiers, fax machines, printers,
microwaves, coffeemakers, etc. be accessible to the blind. The Pedestrian
Safety Act would require the Department of Transportation to set a standard
for a noise to be made by hybrid and electric cars (so we can hear them
coming!). Finally, the Return to Work Act would create a graduated system
for blind persons getting off Social Security benefits. If a blind person
gets a job and loses there benefits, currently they might possibly lose
enough of their income in taxes so that they actually take home less money
than they would just by sitting at home and getting a Social Security check
each month. This is seen as a disincentive to work, so the bill would allow
blind persons to retain part of their SS benefits if they make a certain
amount, and gradually lose benefits as they make more, up to a certain
point.

If anyone wants to take some initiative and basically kick the butts of our
COngresspersons to get moving on these bills, you can find out who your
Congressperson is and give them a call. You can find out who your rep is by
typing in your zip code at house.gov. I, for example, have Tim Bishop as
rep. .. so I would contact him at: The contact info for the legislative
assistants for Gillibrand and Schumer are below.

Thirdly, a new NABS member from Syracuse contacted me via the NABS listserv.
I directed him to the Nyanbs listserv. He seems very eager to get involved,
so let's welcome him!

Best,
Kate


Tim Bishop

202-225-3826

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (H.R. 734) - mark.copeland at mail.house.gov

Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind (H.R. 4533) –
eddie.shimkus at mail.house.gov

Blind Persons Return to Work Act (H.R. 886) – Eddie Shimkus, same as above

Schumer (on the Finance committee, a target for the Blind Persons Return to
Work Act)

202-224-6542

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841) -  katie_kulpa at schumer.senate.gov

Technology Bill of Rights for the Blind (H.R. 4533) – we don’t have a Senate
companion yet

Blind Persons Return to Work Act (S. 2962)- jeff_hamond at schumer.senate.gov



Gillibrand

202-224-4451

Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841) -
ben_rosenbaum at gillibrand.senate.gov

Tech Bill of Rights (H.R. 4533) – no Senate companion

Bind Persons Return to Work Act (S. 2962) - kevin_fink at gillibrand.senate.gov



-- 
Kathryn CARROLL
BlueLaw International LLP
703-647-7508
Cell: 631-521-3018
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