National Association of the Deaf

Submitted by cmssw on Wed, 07/08/2009 - 21:44

On June 26, 2009, in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced comprehensive legislation to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Internet-based communications and video programming technologies.
Some of the key provisions of the “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009” (H.R. 3101) will:

• Extend closed captioning to television-type video distributed over the Internet.
• Require closed captioning display capability in all video devices.
• Require easy access to closed captions via remote control and on-screen menus.
• Allow up to $10 million/year for equipment used by people who are deaf-blind.
• Allow deaf and hard of hearing people with low incomes to use of Lifeline and Link-up funds for broadband services.
• Permit relay services to connect pe