[accessibleimage] FW: Breaking News: Legislation to Make Information and Communications Technologies Accessible

-----Original Message-----
From: accessworld@xxxxxxx [mailto:accessworld@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 10:58 AM
Subject: Breaking News: Legislation to Make Information and
Communications Technologies Accessible

Legislation Would Make New Information and Communications Technologies
Accessible Paul Schroeder

On May 1, 2008, the United States Congress heard testimony on draft
legislation, the "Twenty-first Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act." The legislation was requested by a coalition of
organizations from the disability community to ensure that new
information and communications technologies are accessible. The hearing
took place before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the
Internet.

The legislation that is now under consideration would put in place new
requirements in several areas. First, it would build on the existing law
known as Section 255 which requires telephones to be designed so that
they are accessible to people with disabilities.  That law passed in
1996, and this new legislation would address communications technologies
that use the Internet to send and receive information. The legislation
would also require video description of TV programs, starting with a
modest requirement, but clearly directing that video description be
increased over time. Video description means the insertion of audio
descriptions of a television program's key visual elements during
natural pauses in the program's dialogue. Some may remember that a
previous law had required minimal video description, but that law was
struck down in the courts. For those of us frustrated by the
ever-increasing inaccessibility of our TV sets, the draft legislation
requires that controls like on-screen menus and electronic program
guides be made to be usable by those of us who can't see the screen.
And, for individuals who are deaf-blind, the legislation would enable
funds now used to help pay for phone service for low-income or
hard-to-serve individuals to be used to help pay for braille displays
and other technology needed to use text telecommunications devices and
call relay systems. Finally, the legislation also includes several
improvements for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The hearing featured a wonderful exchange about the accessibility of new
technologies like the BlackBerry. Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta, one of
our nation's military heroes who lost his sight during combat in Iraq,
described in blunt terms his frustration with communications
technologies that he cannot use. In response, a Congressman demonstrated
how to use the BlackBerry's voice call feature, but Mr. Acosta pointed
out that without being able to see the screen, he couldn't set up the
feature. And, in a priceless exchange, Congressman Edward Markey, a
Democrat from Massachusetts who chairs the Subcommittee, also pointed
out that a blind person would need assistance from someone who could see
to enter names and numbers in the contact list. Chairman Markey has been
a long-time friend of the disability community, and as the force behind
this new legislation, he clearly "gets it."

More information is on the blog on AFB's web site at www.afb.org/blog/.
You can get more information about the draft legislation by going to the
web site of the disability coalition that is supporting it--The
Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) at
www.coataccess.org.
You can also keep up with developments by signing up for
"DirectConnect,"
a periodic advocacy information email from AFB's Public Policy Center in
Washington, DC. Send an e-mail to Barbara LeMoine at blemoine@xxxxxxx to
add your name to the list.



You can unsubscribe at any time. To remove your name from this mailing
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