A Correction and a Legislative Update

by Chris Danielsen

In the article “The 2025 Washington Seminar: New President, New Congress, New Approach,” which appeared in last month’s issue, I mistakenly designated one of our legislative priorities as the Blind Persons Return to Work Act. The title of the legislation is instead the Blind Americans Return to Work Act, and as mentioned at the end of the article, it has been introduced by Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Congressman Kweisi Mfume (D-MD), who are its sponsor and lead co-sponsor, respectively. Its bill number is H.R. 1175. I apologize for any confusion created by my error.

Now for an update. The Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) was introduced by Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) on February 24, 2025. Its bill number is H.R. 1529. News of this development came after the March issue was finalized. Here in part is what Jesse Shirek said about both bills in a legislative update issued on February 27:
 
It is critical that both of these bills gain significant cosponsor support early in the Congressional session (especially the ATAA, which has a chance to be included in an upcoming tax package), and that’s where you come in. We need you to contact your Representatives in the House and ask them to cosponsor both the Blind Americans Return to Work Act and the Access Technology Affordability Act.

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 Blind Americans Return to Work Act, H.R. 1175, and the Access Technology Affordability Act, H.R. 1529. These bills will eliminate barriers for blind people by instituting a two-for-one phaseout of benefits for any income earned above the substantial gainful activity threshold in the SSDI program, and creating a refundable tax credit for the purchase of qualified access technology respectively. This will create a true work incentive for all blind Americans currently on SSDI and a method for blind Americans to be able to afford the access technology they need to obtain and maintain employment. Thanks.”

There are a small number of bipartisan co-sponsors for both bills at this writing, but more are needed. So we should all start making those calls and sending those emails!