[Nfbnet-members-list] Legislative Alert - April 14, 2025

[Shirek, Jesse]

Dear Federation Family:

Last week, the United States House of Representatives passed the FY25 Concurrent Budget Resolution. Now that both chambers of Congress have passed this resolution, the work begins on the comprehensive tax bill, part of the reconciliation process that is frequently mentioned in the news. This comprehensive tax bill is the perfect vehicle to include our tax bill, the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA). In order to get the Access Technology Affordability Act, bill number H.R. 1529, included in the overall tax bill, we need substantial bipartisan cosponsor support. We are well on our way to that goal. Currently we have eighteen cosponsors. Of those, eight are Republican and ten are Democratic.

We need to make a substantial and intensive effort to get a lot more cosponsors, especially Republican cosponsors since the Republicans hold the majority in both the House and Senate. We are currently in a fantastic position to get the Access Technology Affordability Act enacted into law. One recent development in our favor is the dynamic score done by Mathematica. This score estimates that the ATAA would save the Federal government $315 million over a five-year period.

This is the ideal opportunity that members of the National Federation of the Blind have been waiting for. We have a tax vehicle, we have a solid estimate that the bill will save the Federal government $315 million, and we have a bill sponsor who is dedicated to the bill, but we do not have a lot of time. Congress will pass the comprehensive tax bill as soon as they come to an agreement. If we are going to get the ATAA included, we need to demonstrate overwhelming support in the next few weeks. It is vitally important that we reach out to every member of Congress, if they have not already cosponsored ATAA. We need your help in this endeavor.

When you call or email, you might say the following:
"Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent of [REPRESENTATIVE NAME]. I live in [CITY, STATE]. I would like to urge [REPRESENTATIVE NAME] to cosponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act, H.R. 1529. This bill will create a refundable tax credit for the purchase of qualified access technology for the blind. In addition, a recent report created by Mathematica estimates that the passage of the Access Technology Affordability Act will actually save the government money, approximately $315 million over five years, by increasing employment for blind Americans, thereby decreasing the need for us to receive government benefits while contributing more in taxes.
Thanks."

A current list of cosponsors, organized alphabetically by state, is below. If your representative is already on this list, you have helped a tremendous amount. Great job! If your representative does not yet appear on this list, 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. We have also attached a contact list of House offices, sorted by state, to this email, but if you have any questions on office contacts, please contact Lindsey Walsh at lwalsh at nfb.org<mailto:lwalsh at nfb.org>. If you contact your representative via email, please copy Jesse Shirek at jshirek at nfb.org<mailto:jshirek at nfb.org>. Your calls and emails are important feedback for our members of Congress to receive and truly do make a difference.

Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] (Sponsor)
Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4] (Lead Cosponsor)
Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]
Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]
Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]
Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]
Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]
Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17]
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
Rep. Bost, Mike [R-IL-12]
Rep. LaHood, Darin [R-IL-16]
Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]
Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15]
Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17]
Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]
Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]
Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1]

Thank you for all of your hard work,
Jesse

Jesse Shirek
Governmental Affairs Specialist
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314, extension 2348 | jshirek at nfb.org<mailto:jshirek at nfb.org>

[National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>

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