Bill Would Expand Access To Technology
The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation Thursday that would require that new technologies such as the Internet and smart phones be accessible to those that are hearing and vision impaired.
The legislation (S. 3304) would update existing rules requiring that technology be accessible to the hearing and vision impaired by ensuring that smart mobile devices such as an iPhone or Blackberry are hearing aid compatible and would require that television shows streamed on the Internet include closed captioning.
"We must make sure that the programs and policies we have in place to support Americans with disabilities keep up with the rapidly increasing speed of changing technology," Senate Commerce Chairman John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said in a statement. "This bill will help lead to greater communications accessibility for Americans with disabilities, and that is a very good thing."
The wireless industry group CTIA and other telecom providers raised concerns about some provisions in the bill, including the standards for achieving some of the accessibility requirements. In a statement, CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent said, "The collaborative, bipartisan work leading up to today's markup has produced a bill that addresses many of the concerns CTIA had with the bill at the time of its introduction. While there are areas where CTIA would like to see additional changes, we are hopeful that our remaining concerns can be addressed before enactment."
The committee adopted several amendments to the bill. The panel approved a substitute that included as its text a modified version of the technology accessibility bill the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee approved last month. Changes made by the Senate panel include language limiting the scope of the bill "to advanced communications and the devices that provide it as well as modifications in the standard and factor applied to the effort the manufacturer or service provider makes to achieve accessibility," according to a Senate aide.
Other changes include amendments offered by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would modify language related to closed captioning to allow the FCC to waive requirements on its own or in response to a petition from a manufacturer and another that would require an advisory committee created by the bill to conduct a national survey of those with disabilities to seek input on the "most effective and efficient technologies and methods by which to enable access to emergency services by individuals with disabilities."
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