[Ohio-talk] Fwd: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] Legislative Update

Tue Nov 3 14:17:18 UTC 2015

I just received this note from Parnell Diggs. It has information about our legislative efforts.

Barbara
Barbara Pierce 
President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
440-774-8077
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: "Diggs, Parnell via State-affiliate-leadership-list" <state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [State-affiliate-leadership-list] Legislative Update
> Date: November 3, 2015 at 8:52:04 AM EST
> To: NFB Legislative Directors List <nfb-legislative-directors at nfbnet.org>, State Affiliate Leadership List <state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: "Diggs, Parnell" <PDiggs at nfb.org>
> Reply-To: State Affiliate Leadership List <state-affiliate-leadership-list at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Dear Colleagues,
>  
> There has been movement regarding H.R. 188, the Transitioning to Integrated and Meaningful Employment (TIME) Act.  Here are some facts which Rose Sloan has put together that you should know. We are up to 48 cosponsors. We are doing an excellent job of ensuring that the bill stays bipartisan. Of the 48 cosponsors, 20 are Republicans. To put that in perspective, we had a total of 24 Republican cosponsors on HR 831 at the end of the last Congress. Good work.  Extra kudos go to the following states:
>  
> California is leading the way with five cosponsors.
> Illinois and New York are not far behind with four cosponsors each.
> Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania all have three cosponsors.
>  
> Alaska, Puerto Rico, Wyoming, and Vermont have all of their Representatives on HR 188.
>  
> New Hampshire and Colorado each have a senator on S. 2001. 
>  
> Rose is doing outstanding work on this initiative, but she needs our help. When you contact your Representatives or Senators about the TIME Act, please cc her at rsloan at nfb.org <mailto:rsloan at nfb.org>.
>  
> On Friday, Lisa Irving of California posted a blog regarding her experience contacting her Member of Congress and ultimately securing that Member as a cosponsor of HR 188.  For those of you looking for motivation to contact your Members of Congress or in need of a tool to motivate more Federationists to contact their Members of Congress, this is a great blog.  You can access Small Steps that Lead to Big Changes blog post at https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/small-steps-lead-big-changes <https://nfb.org/blog/vonb-blog/small-steps-lead-big-changes>. 
>  
> I want to thank you for reaching out to your Senators on the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 last week during the very small window available to us. We had hoped to turn a good bill into a perfect bill overnight. But even though we did not get blind work expenses and the opt-in provision inserted into last week’s budget deal, there will be other opportunities to make additional improvements to the SSDI program very soon.
>  
> As I conclude, I note that we are four weeks away from November 30, which is the deadline for states to designate their delegate to the Legislative Workshop during the weekend of January 23 – 25, 2016.  This designee needs to be able to carry the torch for your state on Capitol Hill during the Washington Seminar. In other words, the person representing each affiliate should feel comfortable presenting the legislative issues we will be asking Congress to consider in the Second Session of the 114th Congress.
>  
> Please keep the phone calls and emails coming in folks. We always enjoy hearing from you, as we work together in the continuing effort to help blind people live the lives we want. Thanks for all you do
>  
> Parnell
>  
> Parnell Diggs, Esq.
> Director of Government Affairs
> National Federation of the Blind
> 200 East Wells Street
> Baltimore, MD 21230
> Office: (410) 659-9314, extension 2222
> Mobile: (843) 267-2018
> Email: pdiggs at nfb.org <mailto:pdiggs at nfb.org>
> Twitter: @NFB_Voice
>   @ParnellDiggs
>  
> The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
>  
> Make a gift <https://nfb.org/make-gift> to the National Federation of the Blind and help ensure all blind Americans live the lives they want
>  
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