Support the VITA Act of 2010

(From our friends at NCTC)

As Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs struggle to meet the growing need for their services, legislation has been introduced to help meet that need. Last week Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S. 3865: The VITA Act of 2010. This legislation will authorize the VITA Grant Program at $35 million, greatly strengthening the capacity of VITA programs and their ability to serve working families.

With a large number of calls from the field, NCTC believes they can gather at least 20 Senate cosponsors over the next 2 weeks. But they need your help to do it. They have offered the following tips:

• Step 1: Find your Senator's DC Phone Number
• Step 2: Ask to speak with the tax staffer. If they are not available, leave a voicemail but make sure to follow-up.
• Step 3: Ask the staffer if the Senator will cosponsor the 2010 VITA Act (see fact sheet).
• Step 4: If the Senator is interested in cosponsoring, they should contact Patrick Jackson (Patrick_Jackson@brown.senate.gov) in Senator Sherrod Brown's office.
• Step 5: Email the staffer the following information immediately following the call:
• Interested offices should contact Patrick Jackson (Patrick_Jackson@brown.senate.gov) to cosponsor S. 3865.
• A copy of the VITA Act Fact Sheet.

Once you have the appropriate staffer's name, you can go ahead and email them the information listed above and follow-up with a call. Standard Senate staffer emails are: Firstname_Lastname@senatorslastname.senate.gov

After connecting with your Senator's office, please send an update to Lucy Mullany, NCTC's Manager of Government Relations.