[nfbmi-talk] Fw: (Breaking News: accessworld) Legislation WouldMake New Information and Communications Technologies Accessible

[Fred Wurtzel]

Hi,

Thanks, Fred, for sharing this with the list.  

This new legislation seems to have the same deficit that the last one did.  I see no reference to emergency warnings.  That was, to me, the reason the last one failed.  Do you know whether this bill covers emergency broadcasts?

Best Regards,

Fred W.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces+f.wurtzel=comcast.net at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces+f.wurtzel=comcast.net at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Fred Olver
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 12:02 PM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: (Breaking News: accessworld) Legislation WouldMake New Information and Communications Technologies Accessible


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Harvey Heagy" <harvey.heagy at COX.NET>
To: <BLIND-HAMS at LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 10:34 AM
Subject: Fw: (Breaking News: accessworld) Legislation Would Make New 
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
> programÂ’s key visual elements during natural pauses in the 
> programÂ’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 AFBÂ’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 at afb.net
>
>
> 

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