VICTORY! Senate Unanimously Passes Technology Access Bill

From AAPD (8.6.10):

U.S. Senate Passes 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act (S.3304) by Unanimous Consent!

by Jenifer Simpson, AAPD Senior Director  for Government Affairs

On Thursday, August 5, 2010, just before the U.S. Senate adjourned for their recess at 10 p.m., they voted for passage of the "Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010" (S. 3304) by unanimous consent. Up until a few hours before passage of the bill, activists from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), American Council for the Blind (ACB), American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) and the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) were educating Senators about the measure and advocating for keeping in  language that would ensure more consumer safeguards. And, due to the extraordinary efforts of advocates across the country who responded to recent Action Alerts and contacted their Senators in the critical days before and of the vote, we have now taken a monumental step forward in accessible technology. 

Earlier in the week, Senator Pryor (D-AR), who sponsored S. 3304 in May, had introduced an amended version of his bill that included improvements for people with disabilities (and that also satisfied some industry demands). The amended S. 3304 was then passed by the U.S. Senate unanimously. Like the House version of the “21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act” (H.R. 3101) -- which was passed on the 20th Anniversary of the ADA on July 26, 2010 -- S. 3304 will:

•  Require captioned television programs to be captioned when delivered over the Internet.

•  Authorize the FCC to require 4 hours per week of TV video description with a phase-in to increase this number of hours.

• Allocate up to $10 million per year for communications equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.

• Require televised emergency information to be accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.

•  Require accessibility of advanced communications equipment and services, such as text messaging and e-mail.

•  Require accessible connection to Internet services that are built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.

•  Require hearing aid compatibility of Internet-enabled phones.

•  Permits different forms of relay services to connect with each other so, for example, a TTY user can use relay services to call a person who communicates in American Sign Language using a videophone; a Speech-to-Speech relay user can phone a captioned telephone user user.

•  Require devices of any size to be capable of displaying closed captioning, delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible.

•  Require accessible user controls for televisions and set-top boxes, and easy access to closed captioning and video description.

•  Creates a clearinghouse of information on accessible products and services, with public education and outreach.

•  Provide for better enforcement and more accountability in the complaints process.

•  Establishes some Advisory Councils that must include people with disabilities in developing the objectives and protocols for accessibility of Internet-enabled TV and phone technologies.

S. 3304 will now go to the House of Representatives for its vote. Advocates support and expect the House to pass S. 3304 on Tuesday. Then on to the President for his signature! Like the ADA twenty years ago, we continue to make history!

For more information, see the section-by-section summary of what S. 3304 (as amended) will do for us at  http://www.coataccess.org/node/9776

Note: As soon as a final copy of amended S.3304 is available the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), the disability coalition instrumental in securing this legislation,  will announce and post it on their website at http://www.coataccess.org

AAPD is a founding and steering committee member of COAT. For further information please contact jsimpson@aapd.com

Comments

[Donnie]

Forgive me, if I don't get too excited about all this. I don't really see anything that will solve the problem of other people's cell phones, wi-fi, and other radio frequency devices that interfere with hearing aids. There is nothing in this bill that will allow me to go out in public, without running into all the devices that will cause my hearing aid to buzz and distort, from several feet away. This bill may help some people, but the hard-of-hearing people who must use hearing aids to function, are still SOL. I'm tired of being stuck at home, with the world passing me by, because of other people's high tech toys. Thanks for nothing, ADA.

[Darrin Ray]

Dear Donnie:

Have you seen and talked to your audiologist about your hearing aids? Most feedback in modern hearing aids are the result of bad programming. Check with your audiologist for a consult on fixing the feedback... Good luck!

[Susan LeVine]

How will this impact online education? My concern is for individuals who need to hear what their instructors are saying. In addition, there should be a way of slowing down or speeding up the instructor's speech because not everyone processes information at the same rate of speed. The programs that are out there are very expensive and don't work well.

[Tom Zinn]

Was this measure passed in the House as well? TZ, Managing Partner, InVenue, LLC

[hearing loss]

I hope this problem was solved. It can help many people. I am glad that they had thought about this.

[handout]

thank you for posting and
happy to visit your blog