National Association of the Deaf

On Friday, 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. The NAD urges members and supporters to let their elected representatives know how important this is for the American deaf and hard of hearing community.

The “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009” (H.R. 3101) covers two main areas: communications access and video programming access, which is summarized as follows:

Communications Access

• Requires access to telephone-type equipment and services used over the Internet.
• Requires telephone products used with the Internet to be hearing aid compatible.
• Adds improved accountability and enforcement measures for accessibility, including an FCC clearinghouse and reporting obligations by providers and manufacturers.
• Allows use of Lifeline and Link-up universal service funds (USF) for broadband services.
• Allocates up to $10 million/year from USF for equipment used by people who are deaf-blind.
• Clarifies the scope of relay services to include calls between and among people with disabilities and requires Internet-based voice communication service providers to contribute to the Interstate Relay Fund.
• Requires the FCC to establish a real-time text digital standard to replace the current TTY-to-TTY analog standard.

Video Programming Access

• Requires closed captioning display capability in all video programming devices.
• Extends closed captioning obligations to television-type video programming distributed over the Internet (not user-generated content).
• Requires easy access to closed captions via remote control and on-screen menus, and requires easy access by blind people to television controls and program selection menus.
• Restores video description rules and requires access to televised emergency programming for people who are blind or have low vision.

How You Can Take Action

1. Find your U.S. Representative. Call, mail a letter, send e-mail, or complete your Representative’s online contact form. Urge your Representative to co-sponsor H.R. 3101.
2. Find your two U.S. Senators. Call, mail a letter, send e-mail, or complete your Senators’ online contact forms. Urge them to sponsor and introduce a bill in the Senate, similar to H.R. 3101.
3. A copy of the bill will be available on Thomas.gov (search for “H.R. 3101”).
4. Share this Action Alert and encourage more people to call, send letters, send e-mails, and complete online contact forms for their U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators.

The NAD co-founded the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) in 2007. COAT is a broad-based cross-disability coalition of more than 240 national, regional, and community-based groups working together for information age equity for people with disabilities. You can find additional information about COAT and supporting material describing the purposes and provisions of the “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act” (now H.R. 3101) at www.coataccess.org.