[Tall-Corn] Washington Seminar: reflections; urgent call to action regarding H.R. 620

Tue Feb 13 21:05:21 UTC 2018

Dear fellow Federationists, 

Just over 2 weeks ago members of the National Federation of the Blind took
Capitol Hill by storm, meeting  with every member of the US House of
Representatives and all 100 members of the Senate in their Washington, D.C.
offices. The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa was represented by
Janae Burgmeier, Katy Olsen, and me. Our team met with Congressman Rod Blum
(District 1), Congressman Dave Loebsack (District 2), and Congressman David
Young (District 3), in person. We also met with both Senator Joni Ernst and
Senator Charles Grassley. 

This year we had a great response from our Congressmen and Senators. Below
is a short description of this year's accomplishments. Please note the call
to action below regarding this Thursday's vote on H.R. 620, the ADA
Education and Reform Act. I have also attached the factsheets for the four
issues for your reference.   

Congressman Young is a champion for blind Iowans as he is the sponsor of the
Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734), and he is a co-sponsor of
the Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act (H.R. 1772).
The congressman will not support The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017
(H.R. 620), a bill he had co-sponsored last year. We were honored when he
spoke at the 2017 National convention in Orlando, Florida. Congressman Young
tweeted - "I had a good conversation with these Iowans who were in
Washington with the National Federation for the Blind. I have enjoyed
working with them in the past and we talked about the Access Technology
Affordability Act earlier this week."

Congressman Blum tweeted the following after our visit with him - "Thank you
to Janae, Katy, and Jerad from the  <https://twitter.com/NFB_Iowa> @NFB_Iowa
to talk about bills to help with accessibility for the blind. I am happy to
join as a cosponsor to both HR1772 & HR1734. He has since signed up to be a
co-sponsor for both bills as he promised he would.  

Congressman Loebsack expressed interest in the Accessible Instructional
Materials in Higher Education Act (H.R. 1772), and has co-sponsored the
Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734) since the Washington
Seminar.

Please see the below E-mail from Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette with a Call to
Action concerning H.R. 620, the "ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017,":

Greetings fellow Federationists:

Many of you were already aware that H.R. 620, the "ADA Education and Reform
Act of 2017," was moving toward a vote in the House of Representatives this
week. We have recently learned that vote is scheduled to take place this
Thursday morning, February 15. 

In light of these developments, the National Federation of the Blind is
mobilizing to reiterate our strong opposition to this bill leading up to the
vote on Thursday. We are encouraging all of our members to call, email, and
contact their representatives via social media over the next two days. A
high volume of contact from us will be especially critical on Wednesday,
February 14th, the day before the vote. The more that members of Congress
hear from us on that day, the harder it will be for them to forget our
opposition as they cast their votes the next day.

Contact information, including office phone numbers, email addresses, and
social media handles can be found on the website of each member of Congress.
You can also call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be
connected directly to the Washington, DC office of your member of Congress. 

These next two days are critical for us if we hope to stop the momentum of
this bill. We laid the foundation of this work at our Washington Seminar and
this next phase represents the crucial follow-up effort that may very well
help stop this bill and make sure that civil rights for the blind are not
set back by thirty years. 

The important thing is that we, the National Federation of the Blind, make
our voices heard loudly and often over the next two days. 

Please see below for a sample email that can be used when emailing your
members of Congress. Remember, these messages do not need to be long or
detailed. In fact, short and to the point is often the best way to go.

Dear Representative [Last Name]:

My name is [blank] and I live in [city], [state]. I am writing to you today
to urge you to vote no on H.R. 620, the "ADA Education and Reform Act of
2017." This bill will diminish the rights of blind people by eroding the
foundation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

[Street address]

[Phone number]

For any calls you make to your representative's office, a similar script can
be used. 

Once again, thank you for all that you do to advance the legislative
priorities of the blind.

Best,

Dylan

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette

Government Affairs Specialist

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314, extension 2210 | DHedtler-Gaudette at nfb.org

Jerad S. Nylin, President

National Federation of the Blind of Iowa 

jerad.nfbi at gmail.com 

319-535-3723

 <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org 

<https://www.facebook.com/National-Federation-Of-the-Blind-Of-Iowa-372681823
082570/posts> Like the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa on Facebook

 <https://twitter.com/nfb_iowa> Follow us on Twitter @NFB_Iowa    

Live the life you want.

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.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com
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