This is the fourth of six legislative advocacy alerts. There will be two more in the coming weeks.
The National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans, urges both the House and Senate to pass the Access Technology Affordability Act, H.R. 1529/S. 1918. This bill will help blind Americans to be able to afford the high cost of qualified access technology by creating a refundable tax credit of 2,000 dollars for use over a three-year period.
How Members Can Help
Since 2017, the National Federation of the Blind has been working to get a tax credit for the purchase of qualified access technology for the blind passed into law. We believe that this would help blind Americans to better handle the high cost of access technology that we need in order to be able to search for, apply for, and maintain steady and fulfilling employment.
In turn, with more of us working, we would actually be paying more into the federal government through income and payroll taxes and be less dependent on government benefits. Over time, this increased employment and reduced dependence will save the federal government approximately $315 million dollars over the course of five years according to an analysis by Mathematica.
As of right now, we have 32 cosponsors in the House and three in the Senate. Lists for both of those are as follows:
House
Rep. Kelly, Mike [R-PA-16] – SPONSOR
Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]
Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9]
Rep. Kiley, Kevin [R-CA-3]
Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19]
Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]
Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4]
Rep. Valadao, David G. [R-CA-22]
Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
Rep. Crank, Jeff [R-CO-5]
Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]
Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]
Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5]
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. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8]
Rep. Guest, Michael [R-MS-3]
Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25]
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24]
Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1]
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15]
Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3]
Rep. Sessions, Pete [R-TX-17]
Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33]
Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4]
Rep. Vindman, Eugene Simon [D-VA-7]
Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1]
Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1]
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
Senate
Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] – SPONSOR
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]
Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]
We need your help to spread that message of independence and savings to all members of Congress who have not yet signed onto the bill. We are asking that you call or email both of your Senators and your Representative and ask them to cosponsor the Access Technology Affordability Act.
Sample Script
When you call or email you might say:
“My name is [YOUR NAME] and I want to urge [REPRESENTATIVE/SENATOR NAME] to support the Access Technology Affordability Act, [H.R. 1529/S 1918]. This bill will save the federal government an estimated 315 million dollars over the span of five years according to Mathematica, a well-respected economic firm. It will do this by creating a 2,000 dollar refundable tax credit for blind people for the purchase of specialized access technology.
This technology will help blind people search for a job, apply for a job, and then keep that job, which in turn increase the number of blind Americans who are working and paying into programs like Social Security and decrease the number of blind Americans who receive government benefits. Please support the Access Technology Affordability Act today.”
We suggest a subject like: “Mathematica estimates H.R. 1529/S. 1918 would save the federal government 315 million dollars over five years.”
To find the contact information for your specific senators’ or representative’s office, please download the Senate or the House spreadsheet. They are organized alphabetically by state. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the office in question.
If you are having trouble finding the contact information for your members of Congress, please contact Lindsey Walsh at [email protected].
If you email, please copy Jesse Shirek at [email protected].
About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), headquartered in Baltimore, defends the rights of blind people of all ages and provides information and support to families with blind children, older Americans who are losing vision, and more.
Founded in 1940, the NFB is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans with affiliates, chapters, and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. We believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people and work together to transform them into reality. Learn more about our many programs and initiatives at nfb.org.
Government Affairs Contact
Jesse Shirek
Governmental Affairs Specialist
National Federation of the Blind
410-659-9314, extension 2348
[email protected]