HOUSE RELEASES 21ST
CENTURY COMMUNICATIONS AND VIDEO ACCESSIBILITY ACT FOR
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
On December 21, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives
released a draft bill, the long-awaited “Twenty-first Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act.” This
proposal is a dramatic and comprehensive step forward
for consumers with disabilities. It proposes to
amend the Communications Act – the main statute that
impacts the telephone and video programming industries – to
add new consumer protections that will ensure people with
disabilities do not get left out or left behind as telephones
and television programming increasingly rely on digital and
Internet Protocol (IP) technologies. The proposals
will allow greater numbers of people with disabilities to
become independent and productive members of society, as
well as to enjoy all the new electronic gadgets and devices
that everyone else takes for granted.
IMMEDIATE ACTION STEPS!!! To help pass these simple
communication fixes that will bring communications into the 21st century for
people with disabilities, please send letters as soon as you can to the
following House members who are the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee (the committee that is assigned this bill). Make sure to ask
them for their sponsorship of the legislation:
Rep. John Dingell, (D-MI), Chairman, House Energy and
Commerce Committee, Room 2328 Rayburn House Building,
Washington, DC 20515.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chairman, House Subcommittee
on Telecommunications and the Internet, Room 2125 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Ranking Minority Members:
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), Room 2109 Rayburn House Building, Washington,
DC 20515.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Room 2322A Rayburn House Office Building, Washington,
DC 20515.
Also send letters to your own representatives if they are members of
the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, whichwill review
the bill first (This subcommittee is within the full House Committee.) You
can see list of subcommittee members and get their addresses at http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/telint.shtml. Snail
mail is preferred.
Please send copies of your letters to: COAT, c/o of AAPD,
1629 K Street NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20006, attn: J. Simpson.
Your letter could help make sure that there really is 21st century electronic
communication for people with disabilities!
Additional Action Steps will follow! Please stay alert!
