http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/download\/446\/<\/a><\/p>\n====== Sample Letter Here =============================<\/p>\n
The Honorable Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
\n284 Russell Senate Office Building
\nUnited States Senate
\nWashington, DC 20510<\/p>\n
Dear Senator Hutchison:<\/p>\n
I am writing you today as a member of the deaf community to ask for your help in preventing the Federal Communications Commission from destroying a valuable communications service for the deaf. I use Video Relay Service to communicate over distance in my native language, American Sign Language, something that no other technology permits. This life-altering technology has vastly improved my ability to connect with the hearing community.<\/p>\n
In the Americans with Disabilities Act, Congress directed the FCC to ensure that all deaf Americans have access to \u201cfunctionally equivalent\u201d communications, and VRS is the most functionally equivalent form of communications available to the deaf today. However, there is much to be done before VRS becomes truly functionally equivalent.<\/p>\n
I am sure you can imagine the distress I felt when I learned that the FCC is proposing a VRS rate reduction that would threaten this service. I hope that you act to preserve my rights to functionally equivalent communications by preventing the FCC from destroying VRS as we know it. I urge you to ensure that the FCC follows through on its obligations under the ADA so that the goal of true functional equivalence can become a reality.<\/p>\n
I understand that, after a long process during which thousands of pages of comments were reviewed, the FCC established a fair long-term rate plan for VRS providers in 2007. At the time, the FCC stated that one of the goals behind this rate plan was to encourage providers to invest in better VRS service, better technology, and better interpreters. I can tell you as a VRS user that VRS service has in fact improved \u2013 wait times for calls are shorter, videophones are substantially better, and we now have Enhanced 911 emergency service and ten-digit telephone numbers.<\/p>\n
Now the FCC has proposed to abandon its successful rate plan, drastically reduce the VRS rate, and give different VRS providers radically different rates. Rates as low as the FCC has proposed will reverse the progress made toward functional equivalence. Providers will be forced to cut their costs by making VRS less functionally equivalent or stop providing VRS altogether. The proposed rate cuts are so deep that the rates would not cover the real total costs of running a VRS business. I understand that what the FCC misnames \u201cactual\u201d costs are only a part of the real world total costs of providing VRS. Obviously, a VRS provider will not be able to provide service at the same level if it cannot recover the real costs of running its VRS business.<\/p>\n
It is unthinkable to me as a deaf person that the FCC would intentionally hurt the deaf community by undercutting VRS. Instead, the FCC should be demanding more improvements in VRS. Please stand up for the rights of deaf individuals and tell the FCC not to destroy this life-altering broadband service by slashing the VRS rate.<\/p>\n
I urge you as strongly as I can to bar the FCC from halting the investment and improvements in VRS. Please remind the FCC Chairman and Commissioners that they are obligated to make better VRS available to more deaf individuals. Please show your constituents that you will act to safeguard the rights of deaf individuals by making the FCC Chairman and Commissioners keep their commitments to the deaf by establishing a fair and predictable VRS rate!<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Signature<\/p>\n
Date<\/p>\n
Name<\/p>\n
Address<\/p>\n
City<\/p>\n
State<\/p>\n
ZIP<\/p>\n
Email<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hello, Please have your customers, family, and friends help. Visit these local offices, walk in and tell the staff there to please help make sure FCC do not cut the VRS rate and put the VRS service in danger. See…<\/p>\n
Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[3472,35,3008,24,4799,342,4797,4796,69,4794,4798,4795,4800,650,4731,4793],"class_list":["post-10537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-americans-with-disabilities-act","tag-community","tag-consumer","tag-deaf","tag-enhanced-911-emergency-service","tag-fcc","tag-hutchison","tag-letter","tag-relay-service","tag-senator","tag-senator-hutchison","tag-senator-kay-bailey-hutchison","tag-ten-digit-telephone-numbers","tag-video-relay-service","tag-vrs-rates","tag-vrws"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2JX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9136,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/02\/01\/fcc-actions-block-consumer-vrs-calls\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":0},"title":"FCC Actions Block Consumer VRS Calls","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"FCC Actions Block Consumer VRS Calls The NAD learned that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not paid Video Relay Service (VRS) providers for certain types of VRS calls since July 2009. \u00a0As a result, some VRS providers are not connecting or may stop connecting some VRS calls. \u00a0This is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26529,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/03\/02\/concerns-about-vrs-reforms-by-ed-bosson\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":1},"title":"Concerns about VRS Reforms by Ed Bosson","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Concerns about VRS Reforms Watch YouTube Video:\u00a0http:\/\/www.edsalert.com\/2014\/02\/22\/concerns-about-vrs-reforms\/\u00a0 Click to this to read letter to Senator Harkins Letter to Tom Harkins copy (PDF) http:\/\/www.edsalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Letter-to-Tom-Harkins-copy.pdf Click to this to check out representattles of subcommittee. List of Committee (PDF) http:\/\/www.edsalert.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/List-of-Committee.pdf Hello Folks As you can see I have been enjoying my retirement after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31265,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2015\/07\/01\/vrs-providers-express-disappointment-with-fcc-order-lowering-compensation-rates\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":2},"title":"VRS Providers Express Disappointment With FCC Order Lowering Compensation Rates","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:Jim Manley, QGA Public Affairsjmanley@qga.com \/ 202-255-3736 VIDEO RELAY SERVICE (VRS) PROVIDERS EXPRESS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH FCC ORDER LOWERING COMPENSATION RATES; CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ISSUANCE OF NPRM ON JOINT PROVIDER PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE SERVICE, EXPAND OFFERINGS, AND UPHOLD ADA\u2019S PROMISE OF FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10483,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/05\/11\/fcc-public-notice-on-new-vrs-rates-nad-to-file-comments\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":3},"title":"FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"NAD E-NEWS FCC Public Notice on New VRS Rates, NAD to File Comments To view two-part vlog by NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins, visit http:\/\/www.nad.org\/sites\/all\/modules\/civicrm\/extern\/url.php?u=294&qid=783468 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently received video relay service (VRS) rates for July 2010 to June 2011 from the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33024,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/03\/02\/star-vrs-closescaag-remains-strong\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":4},"title":"Star VRS Closes\/CAAG Remains Strong!","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Star VRS Closes\/CAAG Remains Strong! from STAR VRS on Vimeo. Star VRS Closes\/CAAG Remains Strong!\u00a0 Link to Star VRS Letter to the FCC: http:\/\/apps.fcc.gov\/ecfs\/comment\/view?id=60001493690 Contact the FCC about your concerns: 844-432-2275 Star VRS Customer Care: 855-877-2224 or vrscare@caag4.com Convo Support: 510-629-5622 or help@convorelay.com Global VRS: 877-326-5457 [Video Description: Jeremy Jack,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1641,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/05\/15\/fcc-staff-has-threatened-drastic-cuts-in-vrs\/","url_meta":{"origin":10537,"position":5},"title":"FCC Staff has Threatened Drastic Cuts in VRS","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Staff has Threatened Drastic Cuts in VRS If the drastic cutbacks suggested by the FCC staff are adopted, fewer deaf people will have access to VRS. To learn more about the issues: * Watch the ASL videos below * ACT NOW! Send your comments to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10537"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10539,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10537\/revisions\/10539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}