FCC Commissioner Copps Provides Statement Supporting VRS Services at the NAD Conference

Michael J. Copps, one of five FCC Commissioners provided a statement supporting functional equivalency in telecommunications and VRS (Video Relay Services) even though he was not able to attend this Conference. His statement also criticizes the FCC for reducing rates for VRS at the end of June, 2004, and he urges all NAD members to make their opinions known to the FCC. Copps is knowledgeable about the issues facing deaf and hard of hearing people, and attended the 2001 TDI Conference in Sioux Falls, SD (http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/copps/scrap-tdi.html [2]).

STATEMENT OF FCC COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS

47th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, JULY 6, 2004

"Functional equivalency" is a concept at the heart of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The term may sound inelegant, but for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, it translates into equal opportunity, equal rights and fuller participation in our society. In some important ways, actions taken by the Federal Communications Commission have advanced the goal of functional equivalency. We have made strides in ensuring communications products and services are accessible to those with disabilities. We have updated our TRS rules to provide for faster, more effective relay services. We also have embraced new technologies like IP relay and put in place rules to ensure that these Internet-based services can be widely used by the deaf and hard-of-hearing.

But when it comes to VRS, the FCC has fallen short. One year ago, the VRS compensation rate was slashed with less than twenty-four hours notice. Providers of VRS were left wondering what costs were allowed and what costs were disallowed by a methodology that lacked rules, standards or prior guidance from the Commission. VRS consumers were stuck with the consequences. Service hours were cut without warning and long waits for communications assistants became common. The march toward functional equivalency was dealt a serious blow. Adding insult to injury, just last week the Commission again used the same unspecified methodology to lower the compensation rate even further.

All of us need to remind the FCC that functional equivalency is supposed to be our guiding star. Right now, the Commission has a proceeding where it is considering rules that will standardize cost recovery for VRS providers. Clarifying these rules will ensure that the program functions with the integrity it must have. This proceeding also asks whether it is time for VRS to become a mandatory service under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

These issues need your attention and this proceeding needs your input. I urge everyone involved with the National Association of the Deaf to make your opinions known to the FCC. It is vitally important that you participate, that you inform our discussion and enrich our analysis. Please get involved. Your participation can make the difference in deciding whether we can get these latest problems behind us and then get on with the challenge of using these opportunity-creating new technologies for the benefit of every American.