[Ohio-talk] FW: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 09/10/2018

[Richard Payne]

President’s Notebook


National Federation of the Blind


Mark A. Riccobono


officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org> 


(410) 659-9314


 

Dear Fellow Federationists,

 

Meet the Blind Month is quickly headed this way, but we have a lot of exciting happenings around the Federation in the month of September. You will find information below about our work with the Baltimore Orioles. You should know that we will be reaching out to the other major league teams, with the support of the Orioles, to get them to pursue similar activities next year. When we open those doors, we will be working with the state affiliate and local chapter for each team to make sure the local Federation resources are acknowledged.

 

Some of you have asked about the announcement regarding Lyft’s assistance in getting voters to the polls for Election Day. We do not have all of the logistics worked out with Lyft yet. Please stand by and know that we will push it out to our members as soon as we have the process worked out with Lyft.

 

Finally, please keep those in the path of Hurricane Florence in your thoughts and prayers. It is likely to disrupt the lives of many of our members in the Carolinas, and we hope that it ends up being nothing more than an inconvenience. If you learn of members who face trouble because of the impact of the storm, please let me know.

 


Critical Actions This Week:


Legislative Alert: 
A very important legislative alert was sent yesterday. Please be sure to share the information with all of your members, as well as others that would be willing to contact their representatives. The entire alert is at the bottom of this message, but below are the highlights.

 

*	The Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559) is sitting idle in the House Judiciary Committee. We need Chairman Goodlatte to discharge this bill and put it on the House suspension calendar for a vote. 
*	The Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734) has eighty-four cosponsors in the House and twelve in the Senate. We need everyone to check the list and, if their elected representatives have not already signed up as a sponsor of ATAA, to call to urge them to do so.

 

 


News:


Presidential Release:
The September Presidential Release is available at https://nfb.org/presidential-releases. Of course, it is also available on NFB-NEWSLINE, the NFB mobile app, via podcast, and through the Amazon Echo. 

 

Orioles:

Next Tuesday, September 18, is National Federation of the Blind Night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The jerseys will have “Orioles” and the players’ names in Braille, we will be handing out Braille alphabet cards, and I will be throwing out the first pitch. We have invited many of our partners to join us at the game. Below are two articles about the event. 

 

Baltimore magazine: https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2018/9/7/os-to-honor-national-federation-of-the-blind-with-braille-jerseys

Baltimore Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-blind-20180904-story.html

 

Also, the jerseys will be auctioned after the game from September 18 at 7:00 p.m. until September 25 at 10:00 p.m., with proceeds benefiting the National Federation of the Blind. All jerseys will be authenticated by MLB and autographed. The auction will be taking place at orioles.com/auctions <http://orioles.com/auctions> .

 

 


Dates to Keep in Mind:


*	Fall conventions <https://nfb.org/state-conventions> 
*	October 11-12, 2018: Tactile Graphics Symposium


*         November 1, 2018: NFB scholarship application period begins


*         November 15, 2018: Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award application period begins


*	March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
*	July 7-12, 2019: NFB National Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada

 

 

Full Legislative Alert:

Dear Fellow Federationists:

 

We are at a critical point with two of our legislative priorities that need your immediate attention.

 

First, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act (S. 2559) is sitting idle in the House Judiciary Committee. We need Chairman Goodlatte to discharge this bill and put it on the House suspension calendar for a vote. The Department of State will not ratify the treaty until the House of Representatives passes this bill and the president signs it into law. This legislation is noncontroversial, supported by all relevant stakeholders, and was passed unanimously by the Senate on June 28.

 

Please call Chairman Goodlatte at 202-225-5431 and urge him to “support blind Americans by putting the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, S. 2559, on the House suspension calendar.” Note that Chairman Goodlatte’s email web form blocks any emails from outside his district, so please contact his office via phone. 

Our second topic is the Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734). We are up to eighty-four cosponsors in the House and twelve in the Senate. Special thanks to the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois. Fourteen House members from Illinois and Senator Tammy Duckworth have cosponsored this 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, please copy me at JPare at nfb.org <mailto:JPare at nfb.org> . 

 

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

“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 [representative] to cosponsor the bill. Thanks.”

The eighty-four House cosponsors are listed below in alphabetical order by state. You do not need to contact your representative regarding the Access Technology Affordability Act if he or she is already on this list. 

 

In summary we are asking you to make two calls: one to Chairman Goodlatte regarding the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, and a second call to your representative regarding the Access Technology Affordability Act. If you have any questions I can be reached at 410-659-9314, extension 2218.

 

Thanks,

John

 

Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734) Cosponsors

Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] 

Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large] 

Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3] 

Rep. O'Halleran, Tom [D-AZ-1] 

Rep. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ-9] 

Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46] 

Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-10] 

Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] 

Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19] 

Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32] 

Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]

Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28] 

Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-41] 

Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35] 

Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1] 

Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] 

Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]

Rep. Curbelo, Carlos [R-FL-26] 

Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10] 

Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1] 

Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20] 

Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. [D-FL-5] 

Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-18] 

Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-8] 

Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R-FL-27] 

Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] 

Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2] 

Rep. Hanabusa, Colleen [D-HI-1] 

Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12] 

Rep. Bustos, Cheri [D-IL-17] 

Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] 

Rep. Davis, Rodney [R-IL-13] 

Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11] 

Rep. Gutierrez, Luis V. [D-IL-4] 

Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2] 

Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-18] 

Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3] 

Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] 

Rep. Roskam, Peter J. [R-IL-6] 

Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1] 

Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] 

Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] 

Rep. Brooks, Susan W. [R-IN-5] 

Rep. Messer, Luke [R-IN-6] 

Rep. Visclosky, Peter J. [D-IN-1]

Rep. Blum, Rod [R-IA-1]

Rep. Loebsack, David [D-IA-2]

Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3] 

Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] 

Rep. Yarmuth, John A. [D-KY-3] 

Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2] 

Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] 

Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2] 

Rep. Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-7] 

Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] 

Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] 

Rep. Tsongas, Niki [D-MA-3] 

Rep. Kildee, Daniel T. [D-MI-5] 

Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6] 

Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5] 

Rep. Nolan, Richard M. [D-MN-8] 

Rep. Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN-7] 

Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5] 

Rep. Kihuen, Ruben J. [D-NV-4] 

Rep. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV-3] 

Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] 

Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3] 

Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] 

Rep. Faso, John J. [R-NY-19] 

Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2] 

Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] 

Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4] 

Rep. Joyce, David P. [R-OH-14] 

Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13] 

Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] 

Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-2] 

Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7] 

Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16] 

Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-5] 

Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] 

Rep. Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX-30] 

Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16] 

Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-32] 

Rep. Garrett, Thomas A., Jr. [R-VA-5] 

Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]

 

Mark A. Riccobono, President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org <mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>  

 

 

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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.