<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hello all, see below for our 2018 Washington Seminar priorities. More information coming soon.<div class=""><br class=""><div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">---</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Liz Wisecarver, Director</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">NFB-NEWSLINE Texas</div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;" class="">346-704-0145</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><a href="mailto:lwisecarver@nfbtx.org" class="">lwisecarver@nfbtx.org</a></div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div></div></div><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class=""><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Howdy Fellow Federationists,<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">#ICYMI, yesterday afternoon, President Riccobono announced the legislative priorities of the National Federation of the Blind for the 115<sup class="">th</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Congress, Second session. During the 2018 Washington Seminar, we will be discussing:<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">1. The Accessible Instructional Materials In Higher Education “Aim High” Act, (S. 2138/H.R. 1772)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority of educational technologies are inaccessible to blind students. The law requires equal access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to schools for the way it applies to technology. The Aim High Act creates voluntary accessibility guidelines for educational technology to stimulate the market, improve blind students’ access to course materials, and reduce litigation for schools.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">2. The Access Technology Affordability “ATAA” Act, (S. 732/H.R. 1734)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Currently blind Americans rely on scarce sources of funding to acquire access technology. By providing a refundable tax credit for qualifying access technology purchases, Congress will stimulate individual procurement of access technology and promote affordability of these tools for blind Americans.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">3. Opposition to the “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017,” (H.R. 620)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">H.R. 620 erodes protections for people with disabilities by removing incentives for businesses to comply with the law, and by placing excessive burdens on the very people the law aims to benefit. The ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 would weaken the ADA and set the disability community back nearly three decades.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">4. The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled “Marrakesh Treaty”<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">An international copyright treaty will give blind Americans access to millions of published works and improve the distribution of books around the globe.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Please be on the lookout for updated fact sheets and frequently asked questions. Once these are available, they will be posted to the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.nfb.org/washington-seminar" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">Washington Seminar</a>webpage. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks for all that you do!<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Best,<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">...Gabe<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Gabe Cazares<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Government Affairs Specialist<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">(410) 659-9314, extension 2206 |<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:gcazares@nfb.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">gcazares@nfb.org</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><a href="https://nfb.org/" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;" class=""><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1028" alt="National Federation of the Blind" aria-label="0 bytes" aria-roledescription="Attachment" class="" apple-inline="yes" src="cid:image001.png@01D37A3B.4AC46380"></span></a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;" class=""><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1027" alt="Facebook" aria-label="0 bytes" aria-roledescription="Attachment" class="" apple-inline="yes" src="cid:image002.png@01D37A3B.4AC46380"></span></a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;" class=""><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1026" alt="Twitter" aria-label="0 bytes" aria-roledescription="Attachment" class="" apple-inline="yes" src="cid:image003.png@01D37A3B.4AC46380"></span></a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class=""><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;" class=""><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1025" alt="Youtube" aria-label="0 bytes" aria-roledescription="Attachment" class="" apple-inline="yes" src="cid:image004.png@01D37A3B.4AC46380"></span></a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">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.<o:p class=""></o:p></div></div></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>