[Nfbofnc] Fwd: Legislative Alert-Surface Transportation Bill

[Tim Jones]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nicky <nickycolorado at netscape.net>
Date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 5:26 PM
Subject: Fwd: Legislative Alert-Surface Transportation Bill
To: icbv at sbcglobal.net, lakotawolfe at comcast.net, tom at linkerinc.com,
kyleaihara at yahoo.com, tspiliotis at tampabay.rr.com, kae at hdsnv.net,
tmjnc2 at gmail.com, mreller47 at att.net, pjschnurr at att.net, rkvend at aol.com,
lisa.kemp at rsc.state.oh.us, lisa.kemp at rsc.ohio.gov, lhr1827 at optonline.net,
bflanagan at restaurant.org



 Please distribute to as many people as you can.  This is important to do
Monday morning.
Nicky


-----Original Message-----
From: Hartle, Jesse <JHartle at nfb.org>
To: Nicky Gacos <nickycolorado at netscape.net>
Sent: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 2:39 pm
Subject: FW: Legislative Alert-Surface Transportation Bill

Nicky,

     Can you post the below message to the NABM list serve?  Thanks.  Jesse



Fellow Federationists:

I am writing to update you on a potential threat to the Randolph-Sheppard
program.  Congressman LaTourette and Senator Portman of Ohio are planning to
offer amendments to the House and Senate versions of the surface transportation
bill.  Their amendments would allow states to commercialize rest areas on
federal highways and interstates.  It appears that the Senate is going to take
the first action early next week (March 5-9), considering amendments to the
Senate surface transportation bill, S. 1813.  Senator Portman's amendment is
number 1742.

Currently, many blind vendors operate vending machines at interstate rest areas
throughout the country.  If commercialization is allowed, these blind vendors
stand a great chance of losing their livelihoods.  We must educate our members
of Congress about the impact of commercialization on blind vendors.

I will be updating this issue as information becomes available; however, we are
asking you to take immediate action to defeat this threat to the
Randolph-Sheppard program.  It is essential that we make as many calls as
possible on Monday, March 5, 2012.  Please see the action items listed below,
and contact me with any questions.  I have included my contact information at
the end of this message.  Thank you all very much in advance for your work on
this issue!

Please take the following action items:

?         Call your senators and urge them to oppose amendment number 1742 to
the surface transportation bill, S. 1813.  You can be connected to
your senators
by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121.

?         Call Senator Portman (202-224-3353), and urge him to withdraw his
amendment number 1742 to the Senate transportation bill, S. 1813; we must tell
his office that this would negatively impact vendors in the Randolph-Sheppard
program.

?         Call Senator Harry Reid (202-224-3542), Senate Majority Leader, and
urge him to refuse to allow Senator Portman's amendment number 1742 to be
considered during debate on S. 1813 because of the negative impact to blind
vendors that would result from this amendment.

?         Call Senator Barbara Boxer (202-224-3553), Chairman of the Senate
Committee on the Environment and Public Works, and urge her to oppose any
amendment to S. 1813 that calls for commercialization on federal highways and
interstates because of the negative impact to blind vendors.

Jesse


Jesse Hartle
Government Programs Specialist
Phone:  (410) 659-9314, Ext. 2233
Email:  jhartle at nfb.org<mailto:jhartle at nfb.org <jhartle at nfb.org?>>


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-- 
Tim Jones
North Carolina Food Service
Fort Bragg, NC
Office:  910-396-2297
Cell:  704-491-1486