Coalition Update - Great News!

July 20, 2007

July 20, 2007

Dear Coalition Members,

I am writing with some very exciting news. Rep. McCaul (R-TX)

offered a floor amendment to the House Labor HHS Spending Bill in

support of our initiative. It was accepted and passed on a voice

vote. This means that the $2 million increase for deafblind services

that we are seeking is included in the House budget.

The last time I wrote, I said that getting a floor amendment was a

long shot. Sometimes long shots work. Theses remarkable developments

came about through the efforts of a great group of people in TX,

especially Amy , a doctoral student at Texas Tech. Amy is doing

an internship this summer with the American Foundation for the

Blind's Public Policy Center. AFB allowed Amy to include advocating

for the coalition as part of her internship. Amy worked with Rep.

McCaul's Legislative Aid, Ari Stein. Many thanks to all of them and

to AFB for their support.

We are working on clarifying the next steps. The Senate has not voted

on any of their spending bills. We hope to find a sponsor in the

Senate who will offer a similar floor amendment. We expect that the

Senate will deal with the Labor HHS bill after the August break. As

soon as I get clarification, I will let you know. Your senators will

need to hear from you.

This is still a very long process, but our chances of success are

much greater than they were a week ago. Because we made it into the

House budget, our request will be considered in the conference

committee. The conference committee will probably not meet until the

fall. Please watch your email for updates. In order for this to

happen we will need your help.

Thank you.

Betsy

Betsy L. McGinnity

Campaign Coordinator

National Coalition on Deafblindness

July 20, 2007

Great news, Betsy.

Thanks for your hard work.

pam

>

> July 20, 2007

>

> Dear Coalition Members,

>

> I am writing with some very exciting news. Rep. McCaul (R-TX)

> offered a floor amendment to the House Labor HHS Spending Bill in

> support of our initiative. It was accepted and passed on a voice

> vote. This means that the $2 million increase for deafblind services

> that we are seeking is included in the House budget.

>

> The last time I wrote, I said that getting a floor amendment was a

> long shot. Sometimes long shots work. Theses remarkable developments

> came about through the efforts of a great group of people in TX,

> especially Amy , a doctoral student at Texas Tech. Amy is doing

> an internship this summer with the American Foundation for the

> Blind's Public Policy Center. AFB allowed Amy to include advocating

> for the coalition as part of her internship. Amy worked with Rep.

> McCaul's Legislative Aid, Ari Stein. Many thanks to all of them and

> to AFB for their support.

>

> We are working on clarifying the next steps. The Senate has not voted

> on any of their spending bills. We hope to find a sponsor in the

> Senate who will offer a similar floor amendment. We expect that the

> Senate will deal with the Labor HHS bill after the August break. As

> soon as I get clarification, I will let you know. Your senators will

> need to hear from you.

>

> This is still a very long process, but our chances of success are

> much greater than they were a week ago. Because we made it into the

> House budget, our request will be considered in the conference

> committee. The conference committee will probably not meet until the

> fall. Please watch your email for updates. In order for this to

> happen we will need your help.

>

> Thank you.

>

> Betsy

>

> Betsy L. McGinnity

> Campaign Coordinator

> National Coalition on Deafblindness

>

--

Pamela J. , M.A., CAGS

Licensed Educational Psychologist

Deafblind Program

Perkins School for the Blind

175 N. Beacon St.

Watertown, MA 02472

July 20, 2007