[rehab] Legislative Alert-Urgent Action Needed for the Blind Persons Return to Work Act

Fri Apr 2 02:20:58 UTC 2010

Fellow Federationists:

             Thank you for your hard work over 
the past few months in building congressional 
support for our three legislative 
priorities.  Congress has adjourned for the 
two-week spring recess, and will not return to 
Washington until April 12.  We encourage you to 
schedule visits with your members in their 
district offices and attend town hall meetings to 
discuss and urge cosponsorship of our legislative priorities.

             Thanks to your efforts, we now have 
230 cosponsors on H.R. 734, the House version of 
the "Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act" 
originally introduced by Congressman Towns.

             We need to continue building 
momentum on all of our bills.  Currently:

             -- The Senate companion to the 
"Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act" (S. 841, 
originally introduced by Senator Kerry) has 28 cosponsors;
             -- The "Technology Bill of Rights 
for the Blind" (H.R. 4533, introduced by 
Congresswoman Schakowsky) has 27 cosponsors; and
             -- The "Blind Persons Return to Work 
Act" (H.R. 886, introduced by Congressman John 
Lewis) has 56 cosponsors, while its Senate 
companion (S. 2962, introduced by Senators Dodd 
and McCain) has five cosponsors.

             As you can see, we have a great deal 
of work yet to go on each of these bills.

             Because Congress has taken a 
particular interest in job creation, expansion, 
and increased employment, we have an unparalleled 
opportunity to ensure that the Blind Persons 
Return to Work Act becomes law during this 
congressional session.  If we increase our House 
sponsorship to 100 and our Senate sponsorship to 
25, we believe we can incorporate this 
legislation into a larger Jobs Bill.  Please make 
an extra effort to persuade your members to cosponsor H.R. 886 and S. 2962.

             Many of the congressional 
representatives who were ranked as being likely 
to cosponsor this legislation at the 2010 
Washington Seminar have yet to cosponsor these 
bills.  In addition, we need to get as many 
cosponsors from representatives who serve on the 
Committee on House Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance.

             Finally, several congressional 
representatives who’ve cosponsored changes to the 
Social Security Disability Insurance Earnings 
structure for the blind in previous congressional 
sessions have not yet cosponsored the bill this 
session.  Listed below are congressional 
representatives who received rankings of 4 or 5, 
serve on the House Committee on Ways Means or the 
Senate Committee on Finance, have cosponsored 
previous forms of this legislationand have not 
yet cosponsored H.R. 886 and S. 2962.

             I know that you will, as always, 
work hard over the upcoming two-week spring 
district period to increase commitments from your 
representatives on this important legislation.

             Thank you for your continuing 
efforts on behalf of our National Federation of the Blind.

Yours,

Ronza M. Othman, Esq.
Government Programs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
Phone: (410) 659-9314, extension 2374
E-mail: <mailto:rothman at nfb.org>rothman at nfb.org

RO/wmb

Members Ranked at 4 or 5

Sen. Robert Bennett, UT
Sen. Sam Brownback, KS
Sen. Susan Collins, ME (previously cosponsored in the 110th Congress)
Sen. Jim DeMint, SC
Sen. Dick Durbin, IL
Sen. Judd Gregg, NH
Sen. Mike Johanns, NE
Sen. John Kerry, MA (Senate Committee on Finance)
Sen. George LaMieux, FL
Sen. Mary Landrieu, LA
Sen. Ben Nelson, NE
Sen. Harry Reid, NV
Rep. Gary Ackerman, NY
Rep. Marion Berry, AR
Rep. Brian Bilbray, CA
Rep. John Boozman, AR (previously cosponsored in the 110th Congress)
Rep. Charles Boustany, LA
Rep. Bruce Braley, IA
Rep. Michael Capuano, MA
Rep. John Carter, TX
Rep. Kathy Castor, FL
Rep. Ben Chandler, KY (previously cosponsored in the 110th Congress)
Rep. Yvette Clark, NY
Rep. Joe Crowley, NY (House Committee on Ways and Means)
Rep. John Culberson, TX
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, NE
Rep. Barney Frank, MA
Rep. Ralph Hall, TX
Rep. Alcee Hastings, FL
Rep. Dean Heller, NV
Rep. Jim Himes, CT
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX
Rep. Jim Jordan, OH
Rep. James Langevin, RI
Rep. Steven LaTourette, OH
Rep. John Linder, GA
Rep. Elizabeth Markey, CO
Rep. Jim Matheson, UT
Rep. Kendrick Meek, FL (House Committee on Ways and Means)
Rep. John Olver, MA
Rep. Donald Payne, NJ
Rep. Peter Roskam, IL
Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, NH
Rep. Adrian Smith, NE
Rep. Zack Space, OH
Rep. Patrick Tiberi, OH
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, GA
Rep. Charlie Wilson, OH
Rep. John Yarmuth, KY (House Committee on Ways and Means)

Previous Cosponsors

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, NM (Senate Committee on Finance)
Sen. Susan Collins, ME (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Sen. James Inhofe, OK
Sen. Bernard Sanders, VT
Sen. David Vitter, LA
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, HI
Rep. Robert Andrews, NJ
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, WI
Rep. Shelley Berkley, NV
Rep. John Boozman, AR (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Rep. Ben Chandler, KY (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Rep. Steve Cohen, TN
Rep. Lincoln Davis, TN
Rep. Keith Ellison, MN
Rep. Mary Fallin, OK
Rep. Bob Filner, CA
Rep. Charles Gonzalez, TX
Rep. Thomas Latham, IA
Rep. Ed Pastor, AZ
Rep. Todd Platts, PA
Rep. Mike Ross, AR
Rep. Bobby Scott, VA
Rep. Betty Sutton, OH
Rep. Peter Visclosky, IN
Rep. Peter Welch, VT

Senate Committee on Finance Members

Majority – Democrats
Sen. Max Baucus, MT (Chairman)
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, NM (previously cosponsored in the 110th Congress)
Sen. Maria Cantwell, WA
Sen. Thomas Carper, DE
Sen. Kent Conrad, ND
Sen. John Kerry, MA (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, AR
Sen. Robert Menendez, NJ
Sen. Bill Nelson, FL
Sen. John Rockefeller, WV
Sen. Charles Schumer, NY
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, MI
Sen. Ron Wyden, OR

Minority – Republicans
Sen. Jim Bunning, KY
Sen. John Cornyn, TX
Sen. John Ensign, NV
Sen. Mike Enzi, WY
Sen. Chuck Grassley, IA (Ranking Member)
Sen. Orrin Hatch, UT
Sen. John Kyl, AZ
Sen. Pat Roberts, KS

House Committee on Ways and Means

Majority – Democrats
Rep. Xavier Becerra, CA
Rep. Shelley Berkley, NV
Rep. Joe Crowley, NY (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Rep. Artur Davis, AL
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, TX
Rep. Bob Etheridge, NC
Rep. Brian Higgins, NY
Rep. Ron Kind, WI
Rep. John Larson, CT
Rep. Sander Levin, MI
Rep. Kendrick Meek, FL (received a ranking of 4 or 5)
Rep. Richard Neal, MA
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, ND
Rep. Charles Rangel, NY
Rep. John Tanner, TN
Rep. Mike Thompson, CA
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, MD
Rep. John Yarmuth, KY (received a ranking of 4 or 5)

Minority - Republicans
Rep. Charles Boustany, LA
Rep. Kevin Brady, TX
Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, FL
Rep. Dave Camp, MI (Ranking Member)
Rep. Eric Cantor, VA
Rep. Geoff Davis, KY
Rep. Dean Heller, NV
Rep. Wally Herger, CA
Rep. Sam Johnson, TX
Rep. John Linder, GA
Rep. Devin Nunes, CA
Rep. Dave Reichert, WA
Rep. Peter Roskam, IL
Rep. Patrick Tiberi, OH

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