[NFBA-Phoenix] Legislative Agenda for Washington Seminar

[Rodney Fletcher]

I knew about the seminar. I really want to go. But I didn't know who to talk to.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 25, 2017, at 1:11 PM, Sharonda Greenlaw via NFBA-Phoenix <nfba-phoenix at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> 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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> 
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