[Nyabs] legislation for consideration

[Alexander Castillo]

Hi Kate, thanks for summing up what took place in DC. our efforts
continue year round and it's really up to us to keep the momentum
going after returning from Washington and Albany.

I'm going to ask all of us here to do a little bit of  Homework,
myself included. We've all heard about Newsline going down and this is
a service which can be utilized by not only the blind community, but
the print disabled community as well.

So first, if you have not done so, register for newsline. You can use
the telephone to go through the system, your email, or view the text
only content online.

Second, read the following and make some calls.

Stable funding for Newsline can be achieved through the passage of
Senate bill S2615 and Assembly bill A2467.  We have a commitment for
funding through
July 31, 2010.  After that time, funding is in doubt.

The above referenced bills would cause no new taxes to be levied nor
would it require a budget appropriation.  It would however, make the
Newsline system
available to an estimated one million print disabled New Yorkers.

When you call, make the conversation personal.  Tell the person on the
other end of the line what Newsline means to you and how its loss
would negatively
impact your life.

You need to call your local Senator and member of the Assembly.  If
you don’t know their numbers or who they are, you can get that
information by calling
311.  In addition, you need to call Assemblyman Farrell (the Chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee) at:  518-455-4100.  You also need to
call Senator
Carl Kruger (the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee) at:  518-455-2800.

The bills are before their committees and we would appreciate positive
action on them.  These calls need to happen weekly until the bills
are passed.


We can only achieve our goal if ALL of us give it our best efforts and
continue the work.

Thanks in advance for your help and if you have any questions please call.


On 5/28/10, Katy Carroll <kc2992a at student.american.edu> wrote:
> 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
>