[indiana-l] Legislative Update

[John Huffman]

Today, 20th anniversary of passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA), the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3101, its version of
the "Twenty-First Century Communications Act," by a vote of 348--23.

A less favorable version of the act is pending before the U.S. Senate.
Should the Senate enact similar legislation, it will likely be necessary for
the two houses to agree on a compromise bill, which must then be passed by
both and signed by the President in order for the act to become the law of
the land.

if Congressional action is not completed before expiration of the 111th
Congress (Jan. 2, 2011), it would be necessary to start the process over
again with the 112th Congress which will be elected this coming November.

Indiana representatives who voted for the bill were:  Dan Burton, Andre
Carson, Joe Donnelly, Mike Pence and Pete Visclosky.  No Indiana
representatives voted against passage.

This is an excellent day for ACB's legislative program on behalf of all
blind and visually impaired Americans, but work remains to be done.  We
still need to: 1) encourage our Senators to vote for a bill which includes
the broader House language, and 2) encourage both houses of Congress to
complete action on a final bill before year's end.

If your representative voted in favor of the bill, a personal note of thanks 
would be in order.  That would also be a good time to encourage your 
representative's continued interest and support in any conference committee 
action needed to produce final legislation this year.

Thank you.  JH