From AAPD (12.1.10):
Disability Community Celebrates Passage and Enactment of 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act of 2010
By Jenifer Simpson
On Capitol Hill, on Tuesday, November 30, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), joined with the other founding members of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) to celebrate the passage and signing of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. The celebration recognized this major milestone in accessible technology with a reception on Capitol Hill in the Caucus Room of the Cannon House Office Building. COAT’s other co-founders are the American Council of the Blind (ACB), American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD), and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). The event was widely attended by over 175 people, including advocates, Hill staff, administration appointees, communications industry representatives and other policymakers.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski speaks on the new legislation
The audience listened raptly as distinguished speakers at this celebration included Rep. Edward Markey (MA) and Senator Mark Pryor (AR) who were leaders in the passage of the legislation and who spoke of their involvement in the effort. Rep. Markey referred to the COAT lobbying team as “telecommunications titans” and thanked COAT for its persistence in advocacy. Senator Pryor lauded the bipartisan process, stating it was a model for how legislation should proceed.
Rep. Ed Markey (MA) talks about the power of advocacy.
Also speaking was Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski who announced his agency was already taking steps towards implementation with several rulemakings underway already. Speaker Steve Largent, Chief Executive Officer of The Wireless Association, the nation’s mobile telecommunications trade association, talked about his organization’s support of the process and his personal interest in disability issues. Mark Richert of AFB, Melanie Brunson of ACB, and Nancy Bloch and Bobbie Beth Scoggins of NAD also spoke of their organizations’ deep involvement in the COAT agenda and their gladness of the Act’s passage. The event was emceed by The Honorable Tony Coelho, Chair of the AAPD Board of Directors.
Mark Richert of ACB speaks about the COAT coalition, Jenifer Simpson of AAPD looks on.
As previously reported, this new legislation updates the nation’s Communications Act so newer technologies are also accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. The Act requires captioned television programs to be captioned also when delivered over the Internet, requires video description on television for people with vision loss and allocates $10 million per year for communications equipment used by people who are deaf-blind to access phones and advanced communications services. The new law also establishes a process to ensure emergency information on TV is accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision, requires accessible user interfaces on mobile browsers that connect to the Internet, and requires hearing aid compatibility of ‘smart phones,’ in addition to some enhanced accountability and enforcement measures.
The passage of the 21st Century Communications legislation is a result of five years of cooperative, bipartisan work by COAT organizations, including AAPD, other non-profit groups, industry, and government. The new law was signed by President Barack Obama on October 8, 2010. With enactment of the legislation, the action has now shifted to the FCC where rulemakings on the new provisions have already begun, with advocates from the COAT coalition already highly involved in the rulemaking processes. For details on the deadlines for the new rules, see story at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9931
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