[NFBA-Phoenix] Legislative Agenda for Washington Seminar

[Sharonda Greenlaw]

Phoenix!
As you all well know, many of us from the affiliate will be traveling
to Washington, D.C. for our annual Washington Seminar! It will most
definitely be cold over there, but we will be on fire as we meet,
greet, and advocate for the issues that affect all blind Americans!
Taken from the website, I have copied Below the Washington Seminar
Legislative Agenda of Blind Americans Priorities for the 115th
Congress, First Session that we will be bringing to our legislators!

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 we
want.

The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education (AIM HE) Act

Electronic instructional materials have replaced traditional methods
of learning in postsecondary education, but the overwhelming majority
of ebooks, courseware, web content, and other technologies are
inaccessible to students with print disabilities. The law requires
equal access in the classroom but fails to provide direction to
schools for the way it applies to technology. AIM HE creates voluntary
accessibility guidelines for educational technology to improve blind
students’ access to course material, stimulate the market, and reduce
litigation for schools.

The Access Technology Affordability Act

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 can stimulate
individual procurement of access technology and promote affordability
of these tools for blind Americans.

Appropriation to the National Library Service for the Blind and
Physically Handicapped (NLS) for the Purchase of Refreshable Braille
Devices

Established in 1931, the NLS provides its patrons with accessible
format copies of printed works. With the latest innovations in
refreshable Braille, it is now easier than ever before to put Braille
into the hands of more Blind people. A one-time appropriation to the
NLS will save money and lead to the proliferation of critically needed
Braille material for blind Americans.

The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for
Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled

Despite the ability to convert print books into accessible formats
like Braille, large print, audio, and digital copies, millions of
blind and otherwise print-disabled Americans are excluded from
accessing 95 percent of published works. The Marrakesh Treaty calls
for contracting parties to provide, in their national copyright laws,
for a limitation or exception that allows for the reproduction,
distribution, and cross-border exchange of accessible works.

These priorities will remove obstacles to employment, education, and
access to published works. We urge Congress to support our legislative
initiatives.


-- 
Sharonda Greenlaw
National Federation of the Blind of Arizona (NFBA)
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