[VABS] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - April 30, 2019

Wed May 1 02:02:23 UTC 2019

Dear Members,

Read the email from John Pare and let's make it happen. Our voices matter,
now let's Congress hear it!!

Sincerely

André Hill

Chair
Legislative Committee
Virginia Association of Blind Students
National Federation of the Blind- Virginia Affiliate

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From:Pare, John via NFBNet-Members-List <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Tue, Apr 30, 2019, 7:01 PM
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - April 30, 2019
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>

Dear Fellow Federationists:

Thanks to everyone for your calls and emails over the two week break. Due
to your tremendous efforts we gained eight cosponsors across all of our
bills during the break (Five on H.R. 2086: Stephanie Murphy of Florida,
Chris Stewart of Utah, Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan,
Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; Two on S. 815: Deb Fischer of Nebraska,
Tammy Duckworth of Illinois; One on H.R. 873 Jim Cooper of Tennessee). This
is a significant accomplishment, but we can't celebrate too much because
there is still much work left to do!

Please call your representative and two senators and urge them to cosponsor
these two bills if they have not already done so. A complete list of
current cosponsors is included at the end of this email. A summary of the
two bills follows.

Transformation to Competitive Employment Act
House - H.R. 873 - Sponsored by Bobby Scott (D-VA-3)
Senate - S. 260 - Sponsored by Bob Casey (D-PA)
These bills would phase out Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
over a six-year period, at which point the provision would officially be
sunset.

Access Technology Affordability Act
House - H.R. 2086 - Sponsored by Mike Thompson (D-CA-5)
Senate - S. 815 - Sponsored by John Boozman (R-AR)
This legislation removes an employment barrier commonly experienced by
blind Americans who cannot afford the high cost of access technology by
creating a refundable tax credit in the amount of $2,000 to offset the cost
of these technologies.

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
senator/representative]. I live in [city, state]. I am calling to urge
[your senator/representative] to cosponsor [S. 260 for Senate calls/H.R.
873 for House calls], the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act.
This bill would phase out subminimum wages for people with disabilities
over a six-year period, at which point Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor
Standards Act, the provision that allows this practice, would be sunset. I
urge [your senator/representative] to cosponsor the bill.

I am also calling to urge [your senator/representative] to cosponsor [S.
815 for Senate calls/H.R. 2086 for House calls], the Access Technology
Affordability Act. This legislation removes an employment barrier commonly
experienced by blind Americans who cannot afford the high cost of access
technology by creating a refundable tax credit in the amount of $2,000 to
offset the cost of these technologies. I urge [your senator/representative]
to cosponsor the bill.

Thanks."

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 Gabe Cazares at
gcazares at nfb.org<mailto:gcazares at nfb.org>.

List of cosponsors as of April 30, 2019:
Transformation to Competitive Employment Act S. 260
Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA]
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]

Transformation to Competitive Employment Act H.R. 873
Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray, Jr. [D-CA-39]
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-11]
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-10]
Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2]
Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2]
Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2]
Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6]
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick [D-NY-18]
Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]
Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]
Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13]
Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]
Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4]
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
Rep. Gonzalez-Colon, Jenniffer [R-PR-At Large]
Rep. Cooper, Jim [D-TN-5]
Rep. Burgess, Michael C. [R-TX-26]
Rep. Rodgers, Cathy McMorris [R-WA-5]
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]

Access Technology Affordability Act S. 815
Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL]
Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]
Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]

Access Technology Affordability Act H.R. 2086
Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1]
Rep. Murphy, Stephanie N. [D-FL-7]
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-13]
Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16]
Rep. Cooper, Jim [D-TN-5]
Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2]

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 410-659-9314,
extension 2218 or email me at JPare at nfb.org<mailto:JPare at nfb.org>.

Thanks,

John

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