It has been another hectic week of monitoring Congressional proceedings. This week saw two hearings held that impact access to information through the use of technology.
As most of you know, a hearing concerning the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act discussion draft was held May 1 in front of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. As a founding member of COAT, ACB played a pivotal role in the drafting of the legislation and was honored to have Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta testify as part of the hearing.
The hearing was extremely compelling as celebrities representing the hearing loss community gave impassioned testimony regarding their daily challenges in working with everyday technology. Representatives from industry also gave their standard views on the proposed legislation, saying that they were already addressing many of the issues covered in the draft bill.
Acosta stole the show by giving his own personal examples of the inaccessibility to technology. He was asked by a member if he had experienced an emergency alert on television since he had lost his sight. He responded by saying yes and then was silent for five seconds. After the silence, he said, "Ma'am, that's what it sounded like, like nothing."
Members from both parties expressed support for the draft legislation and agreed to set a deadline to move this initiative forward. The one challenge that we have is industry's obvious fear of the private right of action and undue burden language that currently exists in the draft. Negotiations are ongoing with industry and this topic will be addressed. If you were not able to listen to the hearing yesterday, it has been archived at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti-hrg.050108.Disabilities.shtml
On April 30, the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch held a hearing regarding the Library of Congress' budget for 2009. The subject of the NLS Digital Talking Book Program was raised by the chair of the subcommittee, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.). She said that funding this program appropriately was one of her priorities.
The requested funding level for the program is $12.5 million. The Library of Congress said that it is prepared to complete the program in six years without too much restriction in service. This is simply not good enough.
When this program was started, the agreement was that it would be completed in four years at annual funding levels of $19.1 million. Please call the members of the subcommittee, listed below. Let them know that this program is very important to us, and that having access to information restricted in any small way is not acceptable.
Call the Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121
Democratic Subcommittee Members:
Republican Subcommittee Members:
San Francisco, Calif., April 24, 2008 -- On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) must accommodate the real and legitimate needs of people with visual impairments who receive benefits from SSA. The agency is required under the Rehabilitation Act and the due process clause, the ruling states, to provide communications in formats that are accessible to these beneficiaries. Judge Alsup's ruling cites a concern about "the possibility that the agency [SSA] channeled the discrimination claims of plaintiffs into a black hole from which there is no escape."
The ruling came after SSA sought to dismiss a class action filed in federal court in 2005 by the American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have visual impairments filed a class action lawsuit against SSA, alleging that the agency fails to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind and visually impaired applicants and beneficiaries. To this day, the SSA communicates with blind and visually impaired applicants and beneficiaries in standard 12-point font print that they cannot read, and is unwilling to provide meaningful communication in alternative formats such as Braille, audio, large font or electronic text. "In the 21st century there is no reasonable explanation or excuse for the SSA to continue to ignore the needs and rights of the blind population, and we are committed to bringing about the necessary changes," explained Wondie Russell of Heller Ehrman LLP, an attorney for plaintiffs. "This decision has now set us on the path to securing reasonable accommodations."
Plaintiff attorneys argued successfully that the agency is subject to the jurisdiction of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which bars discrimination on the basis of disability in federal programs, including removing communication barriers by providing "auxiliary aids" that allow persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate. "The callousness of SSA's adamant insistence that sending notices that our clients cannot read was not lost on the judge," said Arlene Mayerson, Directing Attorney for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), and an attorney for plaintiffs. "It is amazing that something that is clear to anyone, that sending a standard print notice to a blind individual denies due process, would end up in federal court."
Mitch Pomerantz, American Council of the Blind President, stated: "It is long past time that the Social Security Administration - which assists tens of thousands of blind and visually impaired persons - is held to account for its stubborn unwillingness to adhere to a statute that is 35 years old. There is no excuse in this day and age of easy access to printers with the capability for producing large type, and braille printers, for SSA to violate the Rehabilitation Act, and I applaud this ruling."
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit have gone without benefits as a result of SSA's failure to give them effective notice of its actions. "Imagine receiving a phone call from the bank that your checks are bouncing and fees are mounting," suggests American Council of the Blind Executive Director Melanie Brunson.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs include the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Heller Ehrman LLP, the Oregon Advocacy Center, and the National Senior Citizens Law Center.
(Press release courtesy of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.)
The nation's three major consumer credit reporting companies today unveiled a comprehensive program to provide improved access to important credit information for people who are blind or visually impaired. The initiative, crafted with the American Council of the Blind, its California affiliate and several individual members of the blindness community, will help protect the credit information of individuals who cannot read a standard print credit report.
Under the plan announced today, Equifax (NYSE: EFX), Experian (EXPN.LN), and TransUnion have begun working to make online credit reports and related information accessible through their jointly operated web site, AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site to help consumers obtain free credit reports. Accessible credit reports for people with visual impairments will be available online by October 31 of this year. By the end of the year, the companies will also make credit reports available in braille and other formats at no charge to qualified individuals who cannot access print information.
Today's initiative includes a commitment to design online credit reports and related web pages in accordance with guidelines issued by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) (www.w3.org/wai). The guidelines, which do not affect the content or look and feel of a web site, ensure that web sites are accessible to people with visual disabilities. The guidelines are of particular benefit to blind computer users who use screen reader or magnification technology on their computers and who rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse.
Dear ACB members and friends,
I am very pleased to share with you the following statements from a letter which Eric Bridges received on Friday.
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
Dear Mr. Bridges:
I am pleased to invite you, as a representative of the American Council of the Blind, to serve on the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) for a term beginning immediately, and ending November 17, 2008, or until the Committee terminates, whichever is earlier.
As the American Council of the Blind's representative, you will be a voting member of the Committee, helping us to ensure that all Americans have access to modern communications services. The digital television transition, which, by law, must be completed by February 17, 2009, will be a principal focus area for the Committee. We look forward to the valuable insights the Committee, through its work, will provide to further the Commission's goal of ensuring that all consumers are aware of the transition and understand what specific steps, if any, they must take to continue watching television after the transition is complete. You are reminded that service on the CAC involves a commitment to attend three (3) one-day meetings per year in Washington, D.C. and a further commitment to work on at least one (1) working group or subcommittee.
The Commission is committed to serving the interests of consumers by actively soliciting their input in the regulatory process and vigilantly assessing the impact of our decisions on the consumer community. ... I hope you will find it possible to accept this invitation and give us the benefit of your valued counsel. Thank you for your willingness to assist the Commission with this important endeavor.
Sincerely, Kevin J. J. Martin
Eric has been lobbying the FCC members and staff since last summer's ACB convention to get a person representing the visually impaired community appointed to this Consumer Advisory Committee. I am very proud of the work he has done and extremely gratified to see that the Chairman of the FCC not only recognized the strength of Eric's case, but concluded that Eric himself should fill that role. Please join me in congratulating Eric on his appointment. It represents a great opportunity for him, and for ACB.