Dear all,<br><br>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. <br>
<br>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. <br>
<br>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.<br><br>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. <br>
<br>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 <a href="http://house.gov">house.gov</a>. 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. <br>
<br>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!<br><br>Best,<br>Kate <br><br><br><p class="MsoNormal">
<font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Tim Bishop </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">202-225-3826</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Pedestrian
Safety Enhancement Act (H.R.
734) - <a href="mailto:mark.copeland@mail.house.gov" target="_blank">mark.copeland@mail.house.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Technology
Bill of Rights for the Blind
(H.R. 4533) – <a href="mailto:eddie.shimkus@mail.house.gov" target="_blank">eddie.shimkus@mail.house.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Blind Persons
Return to Work Act (H.R.
886) – Eddie Shimkus, same as above </span></font></p>
<br><p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Schumer (on
the Finance committee, a
target for the Blind Persons Return to Work Act)</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">202-224-6542</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Pedestrian
Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841)
- <a href="mailto:katie_kulpa@schumer.senate.gov" target="_blank">katie_kulpa@schumer.senate.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Technology
Bill of Rights for the Blind
(H.R. 4533) – we don’t have a Senate companion yet </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Blind Persons
Return to Work Act (S. 2962)-
<a href="mailto:jeff_hamond@schumer.senate.gov" target="_blank">jeff_hamond@schumer.senate.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Gillibrand </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">202-224-4451</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Pedestrian
Safety Enhancement Act (S. 841)
- <a href="mailto:ben_rosenbaum@gillibrand.senate.gov" target="_blank">ben_rosenbaum@gillibrand.senate.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Tech Bill of
Rights (H.R. 4533) – no
Senate companion</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;">Bind Persons
Return to Work Act (S. 2962)
- <a href="mailto:kevin_fink@gillibrand.senate.gov" target="_blank">kevin_fink@gillibrand.senate.gov</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: navy;"> </span></font></p><br>-- <br>Kathryn CARROLL<br>BlueLaw International LLP<br>703-647-7508<br>
Cell: 631-521-3018<br><br>