Five issues are at the forefront of ACB’s legislative agenda in 2004. These include: reauthorization of funding for transportation and highways; restoration of video description to television; reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); protection of the accessible ballot; and restoration of civil rights.
I. Transportation and Highways The Issue: The Senate has passed a highway funding bill and the House is scheduled to take up highway funding legislation this month. It is imperative that both the House of Representatives and the Senate consider the impact these legislative proposals will have on people with disabilities.
Proposed Legislative Action: ACB supports the inclusion of the following provisions in the highway reauthorization bill, HR3550, Transportation Equity Act: a Legacy for Users (TEA-LU):
· Section 3018 The New Freedom Program providing for grants to local governments that can be used for programs, projects and transportation alternatives that go beyond the minimal requirements of the ADA and specifically benefit people with disabilities;
· Amendment of TEA-LU to include the Remote Infrared Audible Signage Model Accessibility Project (to be proposed as Section 3045 of Title III);
· Incorporation of House Concurrent Resolution 56, which expresses the sense of Congress that states should require candidates for driver’s licenses to demonstrate an awareness of the significance of a white cane, or a guide dog, and an ability to exercise increased caution when driving in the proximity of potentially visually impaired individuals, as a prerequisite to obtaining a driver’s license;
· Appropriation of funds to the U.S. Access Board and the Federal Highway Administration for the purpose of conducting research to identify vehicle and road surface features that can generate audible indications of traffic movement;
ACB urges the Senate to recede to the House and to adopt the provisions of the House’s TEA-LU legislation.
II. Video Description Restoration
The Issue: With increasing frequency, television programming relies on visual information to communicate with consumers. Significant events are portrayed visually, emergency weather advisories are scrolled across TV screens, and telephone numbers are displayed on the TV screen unaccompanied by verbalization. People who are blind, or have visual impairments, are thereby denied access to a significant portion of the programming carried on the nation’s air waves today.
Proposed Legislative Action: ACB supports legislation to insure that video described programming will continue to be available to people who are blind, and that this programming will include both descriptive information during regular programming, and verbalization of critical emergency information which is commonly displayed visually for other viewers. We urge Congress to pass the Video Description Restoration Act.
III. Reauthorization of IDEA
The Issue: The House has passed HR1350 which reauthorizes IDEA. However, HR1350 fails to address key needs of students with disabilities. In contrast, The Senate's IDEA reauthorization bill, S1248 contains several provisions which go a long way toward ensuring that a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is available to every child who is blind or visually impaired.
Proposed Legislative Action: ACB supports the following provisions of S1248:
· Recognition of "orientation and mobility" and "travel training" instruction as distinct disciplines in the definition of "related services"
· Clarification of the relationship between state and local education agencies and publishers of instructional materials to ensure that required textbooks and related materials are made available to students with disabilities in a timely manner;
· Creation of a uniform national standard for electronic textbook files prepared by publishers and a central repository for such files.
· Inclusion of socialization and independent living skills, orientation and mobility, and skills in the use of assistive technology including low vision devices, as instructional services that receive special consideration in the development of IEPS for children who are blind or visually impaired; and
ACB also supports mandatory funding for Part B of IDEA. Additionally, ACB opposes any and all provisions that will undermine students' and family's due process rights, the rights of students and parents to fully participate in the IEP Process and the right for families and students to have access to attorneys and advocates. Finally, ACB opposes any "paperwork reduction" efforts which will adversely affect the civil rights of students with disabilities.
IV. Protecting the Accessible Ballot
The Issue: The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) requires states to provide at least 1 accessible voting machine in every polling place by January 1, 2006. Efforts to implement this legislative requirement are in serious jeopardy at this time because of controversy surrounding the need for a voter verified paper ballot (VVPB). Allegations of fraud and security issues have been overstated by people who have either not made the effort to understand, or have chosen to ignore, the performance standards for voting machines and systems of the Federal Election Commission. Furthermore, here are no existing standards for a VVPB. By the time all of the certification issues have been resolved, the effective date of January 1, 2006 for HAVA’s access rights will have passed.
Proposed Legislative Action: ACB opposes HR2239. Further, ACB opposes any Legislation which requires the delivery to the voter of a copy of his or her voted ballot, or which delays the purchase of accessible voting equipment because of unfounded and unsubstantiated security concerns about the integrity of ballots cast on DRE voting systems.
V. Civil Rights Restoration
The Issue: Civil rights laws enacted over the last 40 years have strengthened our nation and brought us closer to the fundamental American principle of equal treatment for all. We believe that recent court decisions have weakened these basic protections in ways that were never intended by Congress.
Proposed Legislative Action: ACB supports the Civil Rights Act of 2004 (The Fairness Act), which was introduced earlier this year, as HR 3809 and S 2088.