Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) emphasized the importance of enacting the Hearing Aid Tax Credit (S. 1019) to help people and families who need hearing aids at an event attended by 170 Michiganders in East Lansing on Sept 3. The Senator was impressed by the extremely large turnout, especially since the event was held on the Friday before Labor Day. It was organized by the Michigan chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Assn for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) and the Hearing Loss Assn of Michigan (HLA-MI) with sponsorship by Hearing Industries Association (HIA) and support from the Michigan Association for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MADHH) and International Hearing Society (IHS).
Sen. Stabenow urged the audience to continue efforts in support of S.1019, especially to help families with children who have hearing loss and for adults with hearing loss who face an already-difficult job market. She noted that she is working within the Senate Finance Committee, of which she is a member, to promote passage of the bill. She added that the bill was ultimately about "whether we as a country can fully benefit from the skills, knowledge and talent of people with hearing loss."
Attendees traveled from all over Michigan to attend the event, including guests from Detroit, Grand Rapids and Midland as well as the Lansing area. As part of the program, four Michigan residents described the effectiveness of their hearing aids and discussed the difficulties related to the lack of financial assistance when hearing aids are needed. They identified passage of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit as critical to their ability to access the hearing assistance technology they rely on in their daily lives. Michigan State Senator John Gleason, a hearing health champion, formally introduced Senator Stabenow to the audience. He is a co-sponsor of the Michigan Senate Resolution that urges the U.S. Congress to enact the Hearing Aid Tax Credit. A group of local children led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to start the program.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow with the AGB-MI and HLA-MI members who spoke at the event: (from left) Dot Wendell, Jordan Crawford, Conor Waterman, Senator Stabenow, and Nan Asher.
Sen. Stabenow and the children who opened the event with the Pledge of Allegiance
Event organizers (from left): Audrey Pleasant, HLA-MI;Shon Halacka, AGB-MI;Andy Bopp, HIA;Senator Stabenow;Ann Liming, HLA-MI;and Nan Asher, MADHH
Event organizers greet MI Senator John Gleason, co-sponsor of MI Senate Resolution urging Congress to pass the hearing aid tax credit. (from left): Shon Halacka, AGB-MI;Senator Gleason;and Ann Liming, HLA-MI.
Speaking during the event, Conor Waterman, age 9, described how his hearing aids have enabled him to be fully mainstreamed in the third grade, and how he "has a fantastic life." He also thanked Senator Stabenow for "helping kids get hearing aids." Jordan Crawford, age 11, described how his parents learned of his hearing loss at age 3, and how hearing aids have enabled him to excel in school and as a musician playing both the piano and the trumpet.
Nan Asher, a Ypsilanti resident, described how hearing aids are the third greatest expense over a lifetime for most people, behind only a house and a car. She also noted how new hearing aids enabled her to greatly improve her grades in school, although she at times had to struggle with hearing aids that should have been replaced years previously, and with hearing aids that were handed down from her Grandmother.
The event was the 11th in a series of grassroots initiatives in support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit sponsored by HIA in partnership with HLAA, AG Bell, IHS and supported by ASHA, AAA and ADA. Other successful events have been held in California, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
The Hearing Aid Tax Credit currently has 10 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate, including 3 members of the Senate Finance Committee, and 125 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives including 15 members of the Ways and Means Committee. Visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org to learn more.
