What a careful, considered, wishy washy statement. ACB and NFB are so
politically cautious, just like our supposed Minnesota Muslim representative
who was on Democracy Now this morning. He didn’t dare give a straight answer to
any of Amy’s questions and he was supposed to be our great hope for the
Democratic Party leadership. So here’s ACB who can’t state outright what this
tax bill really is. They are being so diplomatic. This is what happens to blind
people. They are emasculated by the system because basically, we depend on its
charity. Our pretense is that we are activists and that we have rights.
Miriam
From: Anthony Stephens via announce [mailto:announce@xxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Monday, December 04, 2017 12:49 PM
To: announce@xxxxxxxxxxxx; leadership <leadership@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Anthony Stephens <astephens@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [announce] ACB action Alert: Congress Moves on Tax Reform, Concerns
Raised over Potential Spending Cuts
Overhaul of our nation’s tax code continues to move forward as the Senate
passed its tax package early Saturday morning. The legislation has been the
target of heated rhetoric from both sides of the political aisle. And it looks
like the pressure will now fall on the conference committee, who are charged
with bringing together both the House and Senate bills into one package
Congress will approve over the coming days.
CNN Money has a straight forward breakdown
<https://mandrillapp.com/track/click/30489975/money.cnn.com?p=eyJzIjoickp2TllpZzVld1pHRTcxNDRzOHN0RmpvQ01nIiwidiI6MSwicCI6IntcInVcIjozMDQ4OTk3NSxcInZcIjoxLFwidXJsXCI6XCJodHRwOlxcXC9cXFwvbW9uZXkuY25uLmNvbVxcXC8yMDE3XFxcLzEyXFxcLzAzXFxcL3BmXFxcL3RheGVzXFxcL3NlbmF0ZS1ob3VzZS10YXgtYmlsbHMtaW5kaXZpZHVhbHNcXFwvaW5kZXguaHRtbFwiLFwiaWRcIjpcImQ2OTE1OGQ4Mjc5YzQ1MjU5OTViMjhmNTk2MDk0ZTc4XCIsXCJ1cmxfaWRzXCI6W1wiZjM0NzBlNmI1MGY4MzNlMDQzNGViYWI0M2RlMjhhZThiNzllOGQ4ZVwiXX0ifQ>
of where both the House and Senate bills differ. Expectations are that the
Senate bill will take precedence over the House bill, as Senate Republicans had
many concerns over the House proposal. This is a good thing for Americans who
are blind, as the House legislation had harmful provisions designed to
negatively impact people with disabilities, including repeal of the blind
standard deduction and medical expenses deduction, which are often used by
taxpayers who are blind to reduce their tax burden.
While the harmful provisions targeting taxpayers who are blind is not expected
to be in the conference bill, Americans who are blind should pay close
attention to the coming week as side effects from the deficit caused by the tax
cuts could have significant impact on federal spending programs like vocational
rehabilitation, Medicare and Medicaid.
Due to the shortfall in revenue as a result of the proposed tax cuts, Congress
may be forced to cut spending. Following work on tax reform, Congress must now
pass a budget for fiscal year 2018, and then begin work in the coming months on
the 2019 budget. a number of unknowns still exist around how Congress will
cover the gap between revenue and spending over the coming years. Therefore, it
is crucial Americans who are blind speak up on the programs that are crucial
toward sustaining independence and opportunity.
The cornerstone of our democracy is the currency of our own voices. As
constituents of those we elect to serve in Congress, it is our responsibility
to remind them to vote in the interest of those they represent. Therefore, the
American council of the blind urges each citizen to voice their concerns toward
any budget cuts that threatens cutting valuable programs serving Americans who
are blind.
Concerns of threats to these programs may be shared by calling your
representatives’ offices. The congressional switchboard can be reached at:
202-224-3121.
<https://mandrillapp.com/track/open.php?u=30489975&id=d69158d8279c4525995b28f596094e78>