[Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - August 10, 2018

Fri Aug 10 13:29:53 UTC 2018

Dear Fellow Federationists:

This legislative alert focuses on the Access Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 1734/S. 732). We are making good progress on this legislation and are up to eighty cosponsors in the House and ten in the Senate. Also, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is actively working to determine the annual cost of the bill, colloquially known as the bill's "score." We are hoping to have this score before the Labor Day break. A low score combined with support from JCT will substantially increase the likelihood of the bill's passage.

All of this means that now is the time to work extra hard to build cosponsor support for both H.R. 1734 and S. 732.

Therefore, please call or email your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor H.R. 1734 and call or email your two senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 732.

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. 732 for Senate calls/H.R. 1734 for House calls], the Access Technology Affordability Act. This bill would increase the availability of access technology thereby increasing educational and employment opportunities for all blind Americans. The bill does this by creating a tax credit for the purchase of access technology. The bill has wide cosponsor support with eighty cosponsors in the House and ten in the Senate. I urge [your senator/representative] to cosponsor the bill. Thanks."

Also, please check the list at the end of this email for the current list of Senate and House cosponsors listed alphabetically by state. You do not need to call anyone on this list, unless you would like to call them and thank them for their cosponsorship.

The House of Representatives is currently on recess so you may want to consider scheduling an in-person meeting in the district to discuss this topic. If you are in a meeting, you will want to go into more detail but calls and emails do not have to be very long. The key points to mention: the bill number, that you are a constituent, and that you urge the member of Congress to cosponsor the legislation.

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 me at JPare at nfb.org<mailto:JPare at nfb.org>.

It is critical that we move on this quickly, so please strive to make your calls and send your emails as soon as possible.

Warm regards,

John

John Paré
(410) 659-9314 x 2218
National Federation of the Blind

Senate ATAA Cosponsor List:
Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] - Bill Sponsor
Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]
Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]

House ATAA Cosponsor List:
Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3] - Bill Sponsor
Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7]
Rep. Young, Don [R-AK-At Large]
Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3]
Rep. O'Halleran, Tom [D-AZ-1]
Rep. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ-9]
Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46]
Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17]
Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-19]
Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32]
Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40]
Rep. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA-28]
Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-41]
Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35]
Rep. Larson, John B. [D-CT-1]
Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12]
Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10]
Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1]
Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20]
Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. [D-FL-5]
Rep. Mast, Brian J. [R-FL-18]
Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-8]
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R-FL-27]
Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9]
Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2]
Rep. Hanabusa, Colleen [D-HI-1]
Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12]
Rep. Bustos, Cheri [D-IL-17]
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
Rep. Davis, Rodney [R-IL-13]
Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11]
Rep. Gutierrez, Luis V. [D-IL-4]
Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2]
Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-18]
Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3]
Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1]
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10]
Rep. Brooks, Susan W. [R-IN-5]
Rep. Messer, Luke [R-IN-6]
Rep. Visclosky, Peter J. [D-IN-1]
Rep. Blum, Rod [R-IA-1]
Rep. Loebsack, David [D-IA-2]
Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6]
Rep. Yarmuth, John A. [D-KY-3]
Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2]
Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8]
Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2]
Rep. Capuano, Michael E. [D-MA-7]
Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]
Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6]
Rep. Tsongas, Niki [D-MA-3]
Rep. Kildee, Daniel T. [D-MI-5]
Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5]
Rep. Nolan, Richard M. [D-MN-8]
Rep. Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN-7]
Rep. Cleaver, Emanuel [D-MO-5]
Rep. Kihuen, Ruben J. [D-NV-4]
Rep. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV-3]
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
Rep. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM-3]
Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13]
Rep. Faso, John J. [R-NY-19]
Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2]
Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6]
Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]
Rep. Joyce, David P. [R-OH-14]
Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13]
Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15]
Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-2]
Rep. Meehan, Patrick [R-PA-7]
Rep. Smucker, Lloyd [R-PA-16]
Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-5]
Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]
Rep. Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX-30]
Rep. O'Rourke, Beto [D-TX-16]
Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-32]
Rep. Garrett, Thomas A., Jr. [R-VA-5]
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]

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