[Ohio-talk] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - December 13, 2017

Wed Dec 13 23:25:20 UTC 2017

From: NFBNet-Members-List [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 6:00 PM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - December 13, 2017
Importance: High

Dear Fellow Federationists:

Good news! The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (Aim
High) Act has been incorporated into the Promoting Real Opportunity,
Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform (PROSPER) Act (H.R. 4508).
We anticipate the PROSPER Act will be passed by the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce this week. 

In other news, the conference committee for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
continues to negotiate this bill. There is still a possibility that the
Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) could be merged into the Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act. Along with your calls, we have had several meetings with
members of the conference committee. We also know that Congressman Young and
Senator Boozman, the corresponding House and Senate bill sponsors, are
working hard to promote these bills.  

Currently, the Access Technology Affordability Act has eighteen cosponsors
in the House (H.R. 1734) and four cosponsors in the Senate (S. 732). The
Senate version of the Aim High Act (S. 2138) has one cosponsor.

We need to continue our final 2017 surge on these two items. So please make
three phone calls or send three emails. Please contact your two senators and
urge them to cosponsor both the Aim High Act (S. 2138) and the Access
Technology Affordability Act (S. 732).

Please also contact your representative and urge him or her to cosponsor the
Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734).  

When you call or email your senators, you might say something like the
following:

“Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent of [your senator. I
live in [city, state]. I am calling to urge [your senator] to cosponsor S.
732, the Access Technology Affordability Act. This bill would increase the
availability of access technology, thereby increasing educational and
employment opportunities for all blind Americans. The bill does this by
creating a tax credit for the purchase of access technology. The National
Federation of the Blind has analyzed the cost impact and the bill is either
cost neutral or will save the government money. I also urge [your senator]
to cosponsor the Accessible instructional Materials in Higher Education Act,
S. 2138. This bill will foster the creation of guidelines for accessible
instructional material in higher education. I urge [your senator] to
cosponsor both of these bills. Thanks.”

When you call your representative, you might say something like this:
“Hello, my name is [your name] and I am a constituent of [your
representative]. I live in [city, state]. I am calling to urge [your
representative] to cosponsor H.R. 1734, the Access Technology Affordability
Act. This bill would increase the availability of access technology thereby
increasing educational and employment opportunities for all blind Americans.
The bill does this by creating a tax credit for the purchase of access
technology. The National Federation of the Blind has analyzed the cost
impact and the bill is either cost neutral or will save the government
money. I urge [your representative] to cosponsor the bill. Thanks.”

Also, please check the list at the end of this email for the current list of
Senate and House cosponsors. You do not need to call anyone on this list,
unless you would like to call them and thank them for their cosponsorship.

If you are in a meeting, you will want to go into more detail but general
calls and emails do not have to be very long. The key points to mention: the
bill number, that you are a constituent, and that you urge the member of
Congress to cosponsor the legislation.

You can contact your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard
and asking for the office in question. The number is (202) 224-3121. If you
email your representative or senators, please copy me at JPare at nfb.org.

It is critical that we move on this quickly, so please strive to make your
calls and send your emails as soon as possible. 

Warm regards,

John

John ParÃ©
(410) 659-9314 x 2218
National Federation of the Blind

Senate ATAA Cosponsor List:
Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] - Sponsor
Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]               
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]           
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]

Senate AIM HIGH Cosponsor List:
Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] - Sponsor

House ATAA Cosponsor List:
Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]  
Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10]
Rep. Hanabusa, Colleen [D-HI-1]               
Rep. Kihuen, Ruben J. [D-NV-4]
Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. [D-FL-5]
Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3]
Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6]
Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Rep. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV-3]
Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]
Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13]
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
Rep. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ-9]
Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16]
Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3] - Sponsor  
Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large]

John G. ParÃ© Jr. 
Executive Director for Advocacy and Policy
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, extension 2218 | Jpare at nfb.org

 <https://nfb.org/> National Federation of the Blind

<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind> Facebook
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<https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind> Youtube

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want. 

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