[nfbwatlk] Fw: Legislative Alert-Take Action-Cosponsors Needed for NFB Silent Car Legislation

[Mike Freeman]

BlankLet's get to work and see if we can get our Washington reps on 
board as cosponsors (see below).

Jay Insleei, First District, Ben's rep, is on the full committee.

Mike Freeman

----- Original Message ----- 
From: McCarthy, Jim
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 9:17 AM
Subject: Legislative Alert-Take Action-Cosponsors Needed for NFB Silent 
Car Legislation






Fellow Federationists:



            It pleases me to write to you announcing that our silent car 
legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.  Ed 
Towns, Democrat of New York, and Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida, 
has introduced H.R. 5734, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008. 
Therefore, your help is needed to gain cosponsors of this important 
legislation.



            This legislation assures that blind and other pedestrians 
will receive the information needed to make proper judgments regarding 
the presence of vehicles, in order that we can travel safely.  It does 
so by:

  a.. Requiring the Department of Transportation to convene a study 
within ninety days of its enactment;
  b.. Requiring the study to determine whether a minimum sound standard 
or some other approach will provide blind and other pedestrians the most 
accurate information regarding speed, location, and direction of travel 
for the vehicles;
  c.. Requiring that, when making this consideration, the study must 
evaluate the cost of each method examined, including the cost of 
providing all pedestrians any technology they must possess under each 
approach; and
  d.. Requiring that the study consider which approach permits the 
greatest amount of independent spontaneous travel for blind and other 
pedestrians.


            Once the study reaches its conclusions, the Department of 
Transportation must report its findings to Congress, and within ninety 
days of the study's end, the Department of Transportation must establish 
a vehicle safety standard that implements the results of the study. 
Finally, two years after the safety standard is implemented, all new 
cars sold in the United States must comply.



            This legislation is under jurisdiction of the House 
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House 
Committee on Energy and Commerce.  This subcommittee and its full 
committee are the most important members for this bill, though we want 
all the members that we can get to cosponsor this legislation.  Both of 
our original sponsors are members of the subcommittee, and Stearns was 
its chair when republicans controlled the House of Representatives.



            Now that the bill has been introduced, we need cosponsors. 
This is so because the attention gained will push Committee and House 
leadership to conduct hearings that will help us get out the message 
that, if solutions are not promptly found and implemented, silent cars 
will place the independence of blind Americans in real peril.  To help 
with this task, it is critical that you get your representatives to sign 
on to H.R. 5734.  Recall that you can reach the Capitol switchboard by 
calling (202) 225-3121.   I am providing lists of the subcommittee and 
full committee members, but you are urged to get all members of the 
House to join as cosponsors.  Thank you for all you do.  Let us now make 
a difference in assuring that we can hear cars now and in the future.



Most cordially,



James McCarthy

Government Programs Specialist

National Federation of the Blind





FULL COMMITTEE on

Energy and Commerce

John D. Dingell (MI), Chairman

(Ratio:  31-26)

Henry A. Waxman, CA

Joe Barton, TX, Ranking Member

Edward J. Markey, MA

Ralph M. Hall, TX

Rick Boucher, VA

Fred Upton, MI

Edolphus Towns, NY

Cliff Stearns, FL

Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ

Nathan Deal, GA

Bart Gordon, TN

Ed Whitfield, KY

Bobby L. Rush, IL

Barbara Cubin, WY

Anna G. Eshoo, CA

John Shimkus, IL

Bart Stupak, MI

Heather Wilson, NM

Eliot L. Engel, NY

John Shadegg, AZ

Gene Green, TX

Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS

Diana DeGette, CO, Vice Chair

Vito Fossella, NY

Lois Capps, CA

Roy Blunt, MO

Mike Doyle, PA

Steve Buyer, IN

Jane Harman, CA

George Radanovich, CA

Tom Allen, ME

Joseph R. Pitts, PA

Jan Schakowsky, IL

Mary Bono Mack, CA

Hilda L. Solis, CA

Greg Walden, OR

Charles A. Gonzalez, TX

Lee Terry, NE

Jay Inslee, WA

Mike Ferguson, NJ

Tammy Baldwin, WI

Mike Rogers, MI

Mike Ross, AR

Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC

Darlene Hooley, OR

John Sullivan, OK

Anthony D. Weiner, NY

Tim Murphy, PA

Jim Matheson, UT

Michael C. Burgess, TX

G. K. Butterfield, NC

Marsha Blackburn, TN

Charlie Melancon, LA

John Barrow, GA

Baron P. Hill, IN

Vacancy







SUBCOMMITTEE ON
COMMERCE, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
(Ratio:  16-13)
Bobby L. Rush (IL), Chairman

Jan Schakowsky, IL, Vice Chair

Ed Whitfield, KY, Ranking Member

G. K. Butterfield, NC

Cliff Stearns, FL

John Barrow, GA

Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS

Baron P. Hill, IN

Vito Fossella, NY

Edward J. Markey, MA

George Radanovich, CA

Rick Boucher, VA

Joseph R. Pitts, PA

Edolphus Towns, NY

Mary Bono Mack, CA

Diana DeGette, CO

Lee Terry, NE

Charles A. Gonzalez, TX

Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC

Mike Ross, AR

John Sullivan, OK

Darlene Hooley, OR

Michael C. Burgess, TX

Anthony D. Weiner, NY

Marsha Blackburn, TN

Jim Matheson, UT

Joe Barton, TX (Ex Officio)

Charlie Melancon, LA

John D. Dingell (Ex Officio)






-------------- next part --------------
Blank
BODY { MARGIN-TOP: 25px; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 25px; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica } P.msoNormal { MARGIN-TOP: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; COLOR: #ffffcc; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, "Times New Roman" } LI.msoNormal { MARGIN-TOP: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; COLOR: #ffffcc; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica, "Times New Roman" }
Let's get to work and see if we can get our Washington reps on board as cosponsors (see below).
 
Jay Insleei, First District, Ben's rep, is on the full committee.
 
Mike Freeman
 
----- Original Message -----
From:
mailto:JMcCarthy at nfb.org McCarthy, Jim
To:
mailto:undisclosed-recipients: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent:
Friday, April 11, 2008 9:17 AM
Subject:
Legislative Alert-Take Action-Cosponsors Needed for NFB Silent Car Legislation
 
 
Fellow Federationists:
 
           
It pleases me to write to you announcing that our silent car legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives.
 
Ed Towns, Democrat of New York, and Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida, has introduced H.R. 5734, the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2008.
 
Therefore, your help is needed to gain cosponsors of this important legislation.
 
           
This legislation assures that blind and other pedestrians will receive the information needed to make proper judgments regarding the presence of vehicles, in order that we can travel safely.
 
It does so by:
Requiring the Department of Transportation to convene a study within ninety days of its enactment;
Requiring the study to determine whether a minimum sound standard or some other approach will provide blind and other pedestrians the most accurate information regarding speed, location, and direction of travel for the vehicles;
Requiring that, when making this consideration, the study must evaluate the cost of each method examined, including the cost of providing all pedestrians any technology they must possess under each approach; and
Requiring that the study consider which approach permits the greatest amount of independent spontaneous travel for blind and other pedestrians.
 
           
Once the study reaches its conclusions, the Department of Transportation must report its findings to Congress, and within ninety days of the study’s end, the Department of Transportation must establish a vehicle safety standard that
[A]
implements
the results of the study.
 
Finally, two years after the safety standard is implemented, all new cars sold in the United States must comply.
 
           
This legislation is under jurisdiction of the House
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
 
This subcommittee and its full committee are the most important members for this bill, though we want all the members that we can get to cosponsor this legislation.
 
Both of our original sponsors are members of the subcommittee, and Stearns was its chair when republicans controlled the House of Representatives.
 
           
Now that the bill has been introduced, we need cosponsors.
 
This is so because the attention gained will push Committee and House leadership to conduct hearings that will help us get out the message that
, if solutions are not promptly found and implemented,
 silent cars 
will
place the independence of blind Americans in real peril
.
 
To help with this task, it is critical that you get your representatives to sign on to H.R. 5734.
 
Recall that you can reach the Capitol switchboard by calling (202) 225-3121.
  
I am providing lists of the subcommittee and full committee members, but you are urged to get all members of the House to join as cosponsors.
 
Thank you for all you do.
 
Let us now make a difference in assuring that we can hear cars now and in the future.
 
Most cordially,
 
James McCarthy
Government Programs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
 
 
FULL COMMITTEE
on
Energy and Commerce
John D. Dingell (MI),
Chairman
(Ratio:  31-26)
Henry A. Waxman, CA 
Joe Barton, TX,
Ranking Member
Edward J. Markey, MA
Ralph M. Hall, TX
Rick Boucher, VA
Fred Upton, MI
Edolphus Towns, NY
Cliff Stearns, FL
Frank Pallone, Jr., NJ
Nathan Deal, GA
Bart Gordon, TN
Ed Whitfield, KY
Bobby L. Rush, IL
Barbara Cubin, WY
Anna G. Eshoo, CA
John Shimkus, IL
Bart Stupak, MI
Heather Wilson, NM
Eliot L. Engel, NY
John Shadegg, AZ
Gene Green, TX
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Diana DeGette, CO, Vice Chair
Vito Fossella, NY
Lois Capps, CA
Roy Blunt, MO
Mike Doyle, PA
Steve Buyer, IN
Jane Harman, CA
George Radanovich, CA
Tom Allen, ME
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Jan Schakowsky, IL
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Hilda L. Solis, CA
Greg Walden, OR
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Lee Terry, NE
Jay Inslee, WA
Mike Ferguson, NJ
Tammy Baldwin, WI
Mike Rogers, MI
Mike Ross, AR
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Darlene Hooley, OR
John Sullivan, OK
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Tim Murphy, PA
Jim Matheson, UT
Michael C. Burgess, TX
G. K. Butterfield, NC
M
arsha Blackburn, TN
Charlie Melancon, LA
                       
John Barrow, GA
                
Baron P. Hill, IN
                  
Vacancy
        
 
 
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
COMMERCE, TRADE, AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
(Ratio:  16-13)
Bobby L. Rush (IL),
Chairman
Jan Schakowsky, IL,
Vice Chair
Ed Whitfield, KY,
Ranking Member
G. K. Butterfield, NC
Cliff Stearns, FL
John Barrow, GA 
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering, MS
Baron P. Hill, IN
Vito Fossella, NY
Edward J. Markey, MA
George Radanovich, CA
Rick Boucher, VA
Joseph R. Pitts, PA
Edolphus Towns, NY
Mary Bono Mack, CA
Diana DeGette, CO
Lee Terry, NE
Charles A. Gonzalez, TX
Sue Wilkins Myrick, NC
Mike Ross, AR
John Sullivan, OK
Darlene Hooley, OR
Michael C. Burgess, TX
Anthony D. Weiner, NY
Marsha Blackburn, TN
Jim Matheson, UT
Joe Barton, TX
(Ex Officio)
Charlie Melancon, LA
                       
 
John D. Dingell
(Ex Officio)
                       
 
 
 
 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/gif
Size: 145 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwatlk/attachments/20080411/4ce6ad7d/attachment.gif 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Legislative Alert-Silent Car Bill Introduced.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 33280 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbwatlk/attachments/20080411/4ce6ad7d/attachment.doc