[NYABS] Fwd: Could you please send this to New York?

[NYABS Division]

Hi All,

Forwarding the below email from Amy Albin regarding the legislative
initiative from the National Association of Blind Students to gain
co-sponsors for the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA)
(S.815/H.R.2086).  This is an ongoing initiative for us to work to
ensure this legislation may be included in the next Coronavirus
package considered by Congress.  It is my understanding work on this
package is still ongoing, but if we can get the House bill at least to
100 or more it will help it definitely through the committee process
making it one step closer to passage!

Currently there are 94 confirmed co-sponsors in the House of
Representatives and 23 in the Senate.

Keep up the great work & hoping we can get more co-sponsors from New York!

Justin

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amy Albin <amyralbin at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2020 14:16:47 -0400
Subject: Could you please send this to New York?
To: Justin Young <jty727 at gmail.com>

Hello Students,

Thank you so much for all the hard work you’ve been doing regarding
the Access Technology Affordability Act. If you have not heard back
from one or more representatives/senators you contacted, will you
please follow up and contact them again within 4 business days of the
day you contacted them? Will you please continue to contact them every
4 business days until you hear from them and get them to cosponsor the
bill? Persistence is key! When you contact them, will you please also
tell them that we want the Access Technology Affordability Act to be
included in the next Covid-19 relief package?

Here are the people you should send the e-mail to.

To: staff contact
Cc: Kaloc, Jeff JKaloc at nfb.org, Trisha Kulkarni trishak.nfb at gmail.com,
Kathryn Webster nabs.president at gmail.comm
And Amy Albin, amyralbin at gmail.com


Thank you so much, and every bit of work makes a difference!

Best,

Amy Albin


On 5/29/20, Justin Young <jty727 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Kieth,
>
> Hoping this message finds you well!  I'm a constituent of Senator
> Gillibrand's from Pittsford, NY and I'm sending this message as a
> follow up to my message I sent you earlier in the week.  I and all
> constituents from New York would love to have Senator Gillibrand
> co-sponsor S.815 the Access Technology Affordability Act that would
> create a refundable tax credit for blind people to be able to afford
> important technology.  This technology allows students to participate
> on an equal playing field in the classroom, it allows blind people to
> be productive employees, and it also allows us to compete with our
> sighted peers.  The issue is that technology is expensive so this is
> why this tax credit would be beneficial for us.  I use JAWS, a text to
> speech software that uses keyboard commands allowing me to use any
> computer.
>
> In the past, I have spoken with a few of your colleagues regarding
> Senator Gillibrand co-sponsoring the bill, but have copied into this
> message Jeff Kaloc from the National Federation of the Blind who may
> answer any specific questions you or the Senator has regarding the
> legislation.
>
> Thank you in advance for your assistance and I look forward to hearing
> from you in the near future!
>
> Justin Young
> 30 Sandbury Dr.
> Pittsford, NY 14534-2636
> 585-730-2925
>