HOUSE RELEASES 21ST CENTURY COMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO ACCESSIBILITY ACT
FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
On December 21, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives released a
draft bill, the long-awaited Twenty-first Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act. This proposal is a dramatic and
comprehensive step forward for consumers with disabilities. It
proposes to amend the Communications Act the main statute that
impacts the telephone and video programming industries to add new
consumer protections that will ensure people with disabilities do not
get left out or left behind as telephones and television programming
increasingly rely on digital and Internet Protocol (IP) technologies.
The proposals will allow greater numbers of people with disabilities
to become independent and productive members of society, as well as
to enjoy all the new electronic gadgets and devices that everyone
else takes for granted.
To see the draft bill (PDF only) please go to
Click to access draft_of_telecom_legislation.pdf
To see a summary of the bill (Word) please go to
http://markey.house.gov/docs/telecomm/summary_of_telecom_legislation.doc
Or go to
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3236&Itemid=46
and CLICK on the documents.
IMMEDIATE ACTION STEPS!!! To help pass these simple communication
fixes that will bring communications into the 21st century for people
with disabilities, please send letters as soon as you can to the
following House members who are the leadership of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee (the committee that is assigned this bill).
Make sure to ask them for their sponsorship of the legislation:
Rep. John Dingell, (D-MI), Chairman, House Energy and Commerce
Committee, Room 2328 Rayburn House Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chairman, House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet, Room 2125 Rayburn House Office
Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Ranking Minority Members:
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Room 2109 Rayburn House Building, Washington,
DC 20515.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Room 2322A Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, DC 20515.
Also send letters to your own representatives if they are members of
the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet,
whichwill review the bill first (This subcommittee is within the full
House Committee.) You can see list of subcommittee members and get
their addresses at
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/telint.shtml
. Snail mail is preferred.
Please send copies of your letters to: COAT, c/o of AAPD, 1629 K
Street NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20006, attn: J. Simpson.
Your letter could help make sure that there really is 21st century
electronic communication for people with disabilities!
Additional Action Steps will follow! Please stay alert!
THANKS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!
The COAT Steering Committee
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