Remember to make your voice heard!!
Action Alert: Urge Your Senators to Pass the Independent Living Centers Technical Adjustment Act!07/14/2010 The Independent Living Centers Technical Adjustment Act (H.R. 5610) tells the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) that she shall, at a State’s request, disregard any funds provided to Part C CILs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in awarding funding for FY 2010 and beyond. RSA has interpreted the act to require that the distribution of ARRA funds would affect the distribution of regular Part C funds after the ARRA funds had been expended. This means that some CILs would lose regular Part C funding after the ARRA funds had been expended. Because of the excellent advocacy of Independent Living advocates in California, Chairman George Miller introduced H.R. 5610 to fix this problem. On June 29th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5610 and it is now awaiting action in the Senate. It is extremely important that H.R. 5610 pass the Senate so Independent Living funds will not be distributed in a way that harms existing CILs. Take Action NCIL urges you to call Senator Harkin and Senator Enzi and other members of the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee and urge them to support and pass H.R. 5610! Democrats: · Tom Harkin (IA)
Republicans: · Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Sent by NCIL While legislation that would fund the National Housing Trust Fund was delayed in the Senate this week as Senate leaders worked to find agreement on some aspects of the bill, reports indicate that the housing provisions of the bill currently remain in place. Advocates should continue to call their Senators in support of the National Housing Trust Fund and other housing provisions to ensure they remain in the bill. Senate leaders are working to find enough votes for H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, the 'extender bill.' The version of this bill still under consideration includes initial funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, as well as important provisions regarding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and Gulf Coast recovery. However, some Senators object to the overall cost of the bill, so it remains crucial that Senators hear that the housing provisions remain in any final bill. The Senate could take up the bill again beginning on Tuesday, June 15. Please call the Congressional switchboard toll-free at 877-210-5351 and ask for each of your Senators' offices in turn. Relay to each office the importance of funding the National Housing Trust, extending the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) exchange program, and extending the placed-in-service date of LIHTCs for the Gulf Coast in H.R. 4213. Please call even if you have already called. You can also remind your Senators of the large number of organizations from each state that have signed the NHTF letter of support. Other materials that may be helpful, including the ad that appeared in the Roll Call newspaper and an estimate of how much NHTF funding each state will receive, are posted at www.nhtf.org under the heading "Materials for NHTF Visits and Calls." From National Low Income Housing Coalition On May 26, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill titled Rosa's Law (S. 2781) that would change references to the words 'mental retardation' in numerous existing laws to 'intellectual disability'. The bill, introduced by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) is aimed at eliminating the terms 'mental retardation' and 'mentally retarded' from the U.S. federal law books. Before approving the measure, the panel adopted, by unanimous consent, a Mikulski substitute amendment that would specify that the bill is not intended to change coverage, eligibility, rights, responsibilities or definitions in existing laws and that the bill also is not intended to require states to make similar changes to state laws. Read the text of this legislation at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.2781: Rosa's Law coincides with the publication of the 11th edition of the definition manual titled Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disability (AAIDD). This is the first definition manual where AAIDD presents an official definition for "intellectual disability", the condition formerly referred to as mental retardation. Learn more about Intellectual Disability. Download an FAQ on the 11th edition of Intellectual Disability. This is my duty with honor to let you know that Governor Jim Doyle agrees to sign SB 389 into law! The governor will sign the bill this Thursday at the Governor's Mansion at 2:45. The signing ceremony will be limited to invitations only on that day. Our invitees will be announced soon. We hoped that Governor Doyle would come to Delavan to let any of you to witness the historic signing of the bill but he has very busy schedule with other bills, I assured. However Senator Kedzie and Senator Lazich will likely come to celebrate our new law on June 11 at Lake Lawn Lodge in Delavan. Joel M The Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is seeking suggestions for possible research the department will fund in fiscal year 2011 and beyond. This research will help HUD achieve the goals outlined in its Strategic Plan. The research done by PD&R falls within one or more of 12 primary categories, including people with disabilities, fair housing and homelessness. Good news! SB 389 is called for the Assembly Special Order Session on Tuesday, April 20. The Assembly Session starts at 11AM which would last till 2-4 in the morning depending on how fast the Representatives would debate and vote on those bills above. Joe Riggio is working on contacting the Rules Committee members to move SB 389 to the top of the agenda because interpreting services could be very costly if we wait all day. Hopefully, those members could agree with us so you can go there during afternoon hours instead of night hours. I will announce it on Monday if there is any change on the agenda. The Assembly Visitors Gallery is open to the public. Free admission. The Visitors Galley can be located on the third floor. Tuesday is the Final Vote Day for us!!! The Office of the Governor is the next step! Let's hope for a better future for deaf and hard of hearing community in Wisconsin! Support SB 389 as is!!! Thanks! Go Forwardly, Joel Mankowski STFIL Chair I am sure many of you wonder how long SB 389 would be taken in action. Currently, SB 389 is on the Assembly Committee on Rules which decides which bills will be priortized for the Assembly Session Floor (Second Reading and Third Reading). I have checked the Session schedule and SB 389 is not on the agenda for tomorrow's session. Perhaps, it will be called on Thursday or next Tuesday or Thursday (the last day of the Session). However you can contact those members to let them know that SB 389 must be completed by the Session is over. If not, the bill will die and would be reintroduced next year. Here is the list of the Assembly Committee on Rules members below: Representative Thomas Nelson (Chair) (608)-266-2418/(888)-534-0005 Rep.Nelson@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Michael Sheridan (Vice-Chair) (608) 266-7503/(888) 947-0044 Rep.Sheridan@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Anthony Staskunas (608) 266-0620/(888) 534-0015 Rep.Staskunas@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Donna Seidel (608) 266-0654/(888) 534-0085 Rep.Seidel@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Peter Barca (608) 266-5504/(888) 534-0064 Rep.Barca@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Jon Richards (608) 266-0650/(888) 534-0019 Rep.Richards@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Jennifer Shilling (608) 266-5780/(888) 534-0095 Rep.Shilling@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Jeff Fitzgerald (608) 266-2540 Rep.Fitzgerald@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Mark Gottlieb (608) 267-2369/(888) 534-0060 Rep.Gottlieb@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Joel Kleefisch (608) 266-8551 Rep.Kleefisch@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Mary Williams (608) 266-7506 Rep.WilliamsM@legis.wisconsin.gov Representative Kitty Rhoades (608) 266-1526/(888) 529-0030 Rep.Rhoades@legis.wisconsin.gov You can contact any of those representatives by phone or email to get their attention so SB 389 can be in action before the Session ends on Thursday, April 22. Support SB 389 as is!!! Joel M We just heard this morning about this hearing Please Support! Wednesday, April 14, 2010 11:00 AM 330 Southwest State Capitol Senate Bill 679 Relating to: dispensing motor vehicle fuel for persons with disabilities, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. By Senators Plale, Kanavas, Coggs, Lehman and Taylor; cosponsored by Representatives Krusick, Zipperer, Berceau, Brooks, Fields, Grigsby, Kaufert, Lothian, A. Ott, Pasch, Stone, A. Williams, Zepnick and Gunderson Access is proud to head this State Initiative. Please visit out Peer Specialist page in our Service section for more information. We have updated info for test date verification! | AuthorAccess to Independence ArchivesJuly 2011 CategoriesAll |
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