On March 2, Rep. Capps (D-CA), Rep. Emerson (R-MO), along with Rep. Sutton (D-OH) introduced the EHDI (Early Hearing Detection and Intervention) reauthorization bill, H.R.1246 for the 111th Congress. On March 3, was quickly and unanimously voted out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with no amendments. Next, it will be scheduled for floor consideration. This is great news for this bill that did not pass in the last session of Congress.

HLAA supports the reenactment of this bill which was first authorized by Congress in 2000.. This legislation helps establish statewide programs across the US to identify children with hearing loss and provide early intervention services. The legislation provides:

• Authority to address the needs of children who are not receiving follow-up after they fail newborn hearing screening
• Provide for family to family support in the first months after a child is identified
• Enable National Institutes on Health (NIH) to establish a post-doctoral research fellowship program to recruit researches to become involved with early hearing detection and intervention
• Provides the authority for state EHDI programs to address the shortage of trained health care professionals and other personnel to make certain that every child who is screened and has a hearing problem gets access to appropriate diagnosis and intervention programs needed to succeed

Rep. Markey Introduces COAT bill, “The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009,” H.R. 3101

Ask Your Representatives to Co-Sponsor H.R. 3101!
Ask Your Senators to Sponsor a Similar Bill in the Senate!
Thank Representative Markey!

On Friday afternoon, June 26, 2009 Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced comprehensive legislation to ensure that people with disabilities have access to Internet-based telecommunications and video programming technologies. The bill, the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 (H.R. 3101), would:

• require that mobile and other Internet-based telecommunications devices and equipment be fully hearing aid compatible, have accessible user interfaces, and offer people with disabilities use of a full range of text messaging and other popular services that are currently largely inaccessible;
• provide people who are deaf-blind with vital but costly technologies they need to communicate electronically;
• establish a process and time table for the provision of real-time text capability;
• clarify existing relay-to-relay, Lifeline and Linkup service requirements to ensure their relevance to the real world communications needs of people with disabilities;
• restore the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) modest video description rules and unambiguously establish the FCC's current and ongoing authority to expand such regulations;
• require emergency announcements and similar information to be accessible to people with disabilities through audible presentation of on-screen alerts;
• ensure that video programming offered via the Internet will be both captioned and described;
• call for all devices that receive and playback video programming to employ accessible user interfaces and allow ready access to captioning and description;
• strengthen consumers' ability to enforce their rights to communications and video accessibility through the establishment of a clearinghouse of information about service and equipment accessibility and usability, a meaningful FCC complaint process that holds industry accountable for their accessibility obligations, and judicial review of FCC action to ensure FCC accountability.

1. Contact your Member of the United States House of Representatives. Ask him or her to cosponsor H.R. 3101. Be sure to telephone, send E-mail, and a letter. Find your Member at https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
2. Write your two U.S. Senators and ask them to sponsor and introduce a similar bill to H.R. 3101. Find your Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
3. Use the bullet points above as appropriate in letters and include any personal stories about lack of access.
4. Thank Rep. Ed Markey for his leadership by using the Email Contact form at http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form&Itemid=124
5. You can find a copy of this legislation on http://www.Thomas.gov soon by typing in the bill number: H.R. 3101.
6. Pass this Action Alert along to others and encourage them to send letters, E-mails, make phone calls and to complete online contact forms. Be sure to mention "H.R. 3101" in any text or calls made.
7. If possible, please send a copy to COAT of any letters you send: COAT, c/o AAPD, 1629 K Street NW, Suite 950, Washington, DC 20006.

The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) is asking the U.S. Congress to enact "The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act." This Act would update the Communications Act to ensure that people with disabilities are not left behind as the U.S. migrates to the next generation of Internet-based and digital communication technologies. The changes would expand accessibility to television and phone systems and equipment. A summary of the Act is at www.coataccess.org/node/32.

As part of the effort COAT is asking advocates and others to sign the petition supporting this legislative proposal. Petition on the internet at www.coataccess.org.

President George W. Bush is schedule to sign the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 in a private ceremony for members of Congress only on Thursday, September 25, 2008. Many thanks to all who wrote letters and sent email urging Members of Congress to pass this legislation. This legislation would not have passed this session without the strong support from the grassroots of many different disability organizations. Thank you for all you do! Read the news release from the White House Press Office

Washington, DC – More than a hundred civil rights and disability advocates joined employers on the steps of the Capitol today to urge the president to sign the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Amendments Act into law.

The ADA Amendments Act enjoys strong bicameral and bipartisan support, as well as support among employers, civil rights and disability advocates, who have formed an uncommon alliance around the legislative fix. The bill corrects narrow court interpretations that have restricted ADA protections in the workplace, and stripped coverage for individuals with diabetes, epilepsy, and even cancer. Read the news release from Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund

Washington, DC – The Senate expressed overwhelming bipartisan support for the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act by unanimously passing the bill by voice vote. The bill included over 77 bipartisan co-sponsors. Read the news release from Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund

On May 15, 2009, HLAA was represented at a congressional staff briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building. Highlighted was the new classroom acoustics provision in the School Modernization Bill, H.R. 2187, passed out of committee. If signed into law, it would allow federal grants to be used by districts to take measures designed to reduce or eliminate human exposure to classroom noise and environmental noise pollution. For more on the bill, visit ASHA’s website: http://www.asha.org/advocacy/2009/ClassroomAcousticsProvisionExpanded.htm

HLAA Executive Director Brenda Battat, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (NY), Andy Bopp (HIA), and Alex Graham (executive director/CEO, AG Bell) at Hearing on the Hill, May 13, 2009.

HLAA attended HIA’s biennial Hearing on the Hill reception May 13, 2009, in the U.S. House of Representatives Rayburn Office building. Representative Carolyn McCarthy, (NY), introducing sponsor of the bill in the House made brief remarks during the reception. Also offered were hearing screenings to members of Congress and staff. Hearing Industries Association (HIA) is the trade association that represents over 90 percent of hearing aid device manufacturing companies and their suppliers and supports the Hearing Aid Tax Credit bill, HR 1646.

At that event, HLAA learned that the Senate version of the bill was introduced by Senator Harkin on Monday. S. 1019 is different than the House bill:

• All taxpayers are covered, regardless of age, are covered
• There is no income cap (the House bill has a provision that people earning $200,000 or more would not be eligible for this tax credit)

• People who are claimed as dependants are also covered
• The maximum allowed for the tax credit is $500 per hearing aid
• The credit is available for an individual once every 5 years

After we sent out the last issue of the HLAA e-News (April 7, 2009), we received a great response to our report on the Hearing Aid Tax Credit bill. If you don't all ready receive the HLAA e-News, then sign-up today! Many of you went directly to the website www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org to send your letters to your representatives. Others sent us your opinions and your questions about this legislation. Some of you found you couldn’t support the bill because it only covers dependent children and people 55 and over.

We agree. We want to see this bill cover all people who need hearing aids. We are working on expanding the age range, and hope to see a final version of the bill include working adults. We can’t promise it, but stay tuned. If it happens, you will be the first to know.

We were also asked whether we could support Medicare coverage of hearing aids. With the new administration's focus on reform of health care we will be pushing for inclusion of hearing aids and related services to be covered, including Medicare.

It will not be easy but the steps we are taking now with the tax credit bill, with some of the federal employees health benefit plans including hearing aids, more and more private insurers paying for hearing aids, and more laws being enacted in the states that provide for hearing aid insurance coverage will all push us closer to the day we see hearing aids more widely and affordably available to all.

Thanks for all your emails and letters in response. Keep them coming!

Brenda Battat
Executive Director

March 28, 2009, Fort Washington, PA: A record crowd of 180 Philadelphia area residents gathered this past Saturday in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, to demonstrate their support for the Hearing Aid Tax Credit (HR 1646) and to thank Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) for her original co-sponsorship of the bill. The event was hosted by the Pennsylvania chapters of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and the A.G. Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) with support from the Pennsylvania chapter of the International Hearing Society (IHS), and Hearing Industries Association (HIA). Read more

Rep. Allyson Schwartz greets one of the younger members of the Pennsylvania crowd while Lise Hamlin (HLAA) looks on.

HLAA Philadelphia Chapter Leader Carolyn Meyer welcomes 180 attendees to the Hearing Aid Tax Credit event, March 28, 2009, in Fort Washington, PA.

Andy Bopp (HIA) thanks Rep. Allyson Schwartz for her remarks to the community and leaves her with a big reminder of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit bill.

Pennsylvania is joining the list of States that have worked hard to bring out people in support of a federal hearing aid tax credit. On March 28 at 10 am, a brunch will be held in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania to facilitate a discussion about the hearing aid tax credit with Representative Allyson Schwartz and her constituents.

HLAA is working with a coalition of national organizations supporting the re-introduction of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit bill. Working together, we built a lot of momentum last year and look to continue to build on that this year.

Members of HLAA state organizations and chapters have contributed endless hours holding events in their own communities that bring together Congressional representatives and their constituents to talk about the important of a hearing aid tax credit. Events have been held in California, Maryland and Michigan and more are planned. Often, our local members and AG Bell members are able to bring in 100-130 people including children with hearing loss who let their representatives know how important a tax credit will be to help make hearing aids affordable.

Pennsylvania has done a terrific job raising awareness about this event: 11 days in advance of the brunch 155 people signed up to attend! Great work, Pennsylvania!

If you live in the Philadelphia area and would like to attend, contact BStewart-PHHA@comcast.net.

WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2009 — Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) today reintroduced the bipartisan Hearing Aid Tax Credit (H.R. 1646) along with Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and a record number of original co-sponsors, including 8 members of the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, with the addition of a $200,000/year income eligibility cap, is otherwise unchanged from legislation in the 110th Congress that attracted 112 co-sponsors by the end of the session.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit would provide assistance to many of the 31.5 million people who need hearing aids to treat their hearing loss. Medicare expressly excludes coverage of hearing aids as do most private insurance policies, and as a result, cost is cited as a prohibitive factor by two thirds of the people who do not treat their hearing loss. If enacted, H.R. 1646 would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid for children and people age 55 and older. While hearing aids can treat 95% of all hearing losses, only 22% of those who could benefit from them actually use them. Read the complete press release.

A plaque commemorating Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s support for hearing health issues was presented to the Congressman by Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell), and Hearing Industries Association (HIA) in his Congressional office on November 24, 2008. The plaque included pictures from the event co-hosted October 2007 on Capitol Hill to publicly recognize Congressman Van Hollen for his consistent support of hearing health and the hearing aid tax credit bill. Over 100 people attended that event, sponsored by the HIA. Several people gave testimonies about why hearing aids are so critical to their daily lives. Malika Jalloh-Jamboria an eight year old girl from Clarksburg, Maryland recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Congressman Van Hollen addressed the crowd saying he was honored to support the bill to enable more people to get hearing aids when they need them.

In addition to coalition efforts on Capitol Hill, local HLAA and AG Bell chapters have hosted events for Representatives in their districts to demonstrate the importance of this legislation to voters. More than 15,000 letters have been sent to Congress in 2008 alone by people visiting www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org. Brenda Battat, executive director of HLAA, notes that she is “delighted that HLAA members have played a key role in reaching 100 co-sponsors. They have hosted joint events in California, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas for Representatives who are supportive of financial assistance for people who need hearing aids. Many other HLAA members have written letters and paid visits to their representatives which have paid off in gaining such strong Congressional support.” If enacted, H.R. 2329 would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid for children and people age 55 and older.

HEARING AID TAX CREDIT PASSES 100 CO-SPONSOR THRESHOLD

WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2008 — Bipartisan Hearing Aid Tax Credit legislation (H.R. 2329 / S.1410) broke the 100 co-sponsor threshold as Congress adjourned for August recess. Reps. Gene Green (D-TX), Mary Bono (R-CA), and Robert Wittman (R-VA) are the most recent Representatives to join 99 of their House colleagues to bring the tax credit to 102 total cosponsors in the House and 11 in the Senate.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit was introduced by Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Vern Ehlers (R-MI) to provide assistance to some of the 32 million people who need a hearing aid to treat their hearing loss.  Medicare expressly excludes coverage of hearing aids as do most private insurance policies, and as a result, cost is cited as a prohibitive factor by two thirds of the people who do not treat their hearing loss.  If enacted, H.R. 2329 would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid for children and people age 55 and older. While hearing aids can treat 95% of all hearing losses, only 22% of those who could benefit from them actually use them.  

HIA’s Immediate Past Chairman, Cathy Jones, points out that that “affordability of hearing healthcare – not just the hearing aids themselves but importantly the professional testing, fitting and training that makes them perform at peak – is a concern.  HIA brought together manufacturers, professionals, and the consumers who depend on our technology, and we all agreed that a tax credit for hearing aid purchases is the best way to improve access.  The unity behind our legislation is one of its key strengths.”

In fact, the Hearing Aid Tax Credit is actively supported by most hearing health organizations including the American Speech Language Hearing Assn (ASHA), American Academy of Audiology (AAA), Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), Hearing Industries Association (HIA), International Hearing Society (IHS), Hearing Loss Assn of America (HLAA), and the Alexander Graham Bell Assn for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell).

Working as a coalition, the hearing health community has worked to focus Congressional attention on the importance of hearing health and the burdens associated with the lack of financial assistance for treatment.  “Access to hearing technology, coupled with early identification of hearing loss, is absolutely essential for children to learn to listen and talk," said Catherine Murphy, Director of Communications for AG Bell. "Parents of children with hearing loss shouldn't have to sacrifice other essentials in order to give their children access to hearing devices they desperately need. We thank those members of Congress who have supported this important issue."

In addition to coalition efforts on Capitol Hill, local AG Bell and HLAA chapters have hosted events for Representatives in their districts to demonstrate the importance of this legislation to voters.  In addition, more than 15,000 letters have been sent to Congress in 2008 alone by people visiting www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org.  Brenda Battat, executive director of HLAA, notes that she is “delighted that HLAA members have played a key role in reaching 100 co-sponsors. They have hosted joint events in California, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas for Representatives who are supportive of financial assistance for people who need hearing aids. Many other HLAA members have written letters and paid visits to their representatives which have paid off in gaining such strong Congressional support.”

James C. Ogurek, BC-HIS, President of the International Hearing Society, saluted the achievement of this milestone.  "Attaining over 100 cosponsors to the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act is tangible evidence that lawmakers are increasingly recognizing the importance of improving access to the benefits of amplification for their hearing-impaired constituents.  IHS is pleased to be working jointly with providers, patients, and manufacturers in support of this legislation."  The participation of IHS member hearing health professionals has been instrumental to the success of the Congressional events in various states.

While HIA is especially proud of surpassing the 100 cosponsor mark, its efforts will continue this year and the next when healthcare is likely to be a major issue for whomever wins the White House and controls Congress.  Jerry Ruzicka, HIA Chairman, notes that “the hearing aid tax credit is HIA’s top legislative priority, and we are gratified that so many Representatives agree that the lack of financial assistance for hearing aid purchase is a major societal problem.  Our legislation puts the financial assistance in the hands of those who need it most – children and seniors – and we will continue to work aggressively for its passage.” 

HIA, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the national trade association of manufacturers of hearing aids, implantable hearing devices, assistive listening devices, component parts and power sources for amplification devices.

Visit www.hearingaidtaxcredit.org for information about the bill, or contact Andy Bopp, abopp@bostrom.com with any questions.

VICTORY ON CAPITOL HILL: Congress Passes Legislation Supporting Training Opportunities for Real-Time Writers

We send out Action Alerts knowing that more often than not our efforts take years to bear fruit.  We’re happy to report this session has resulted in some good news: Congress has passed legislation that will help fund the training of more real-time writers. Many thanks to HLAA members who wrote to their Congress members and supported efforts for the training of more real-time writers!

From NCRA (National Court Reporter’s Association):
Congress Passes Training for Real-Time Writers Language

On July 31, 2008, Congress passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act. Included in the Act is NCRA’s Training for Real-Time Writers language, which creates a competitive grant program to train real-time writers to provide both captioned information and communication access for the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing.

The passage of the bill marks a triumphant end to eight years of effort put in by NCRA and our partners in Congress. Many legislators, especially Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), have been advocates of this language since it was first introduced. NCRA has worked hand-in-hand with these lawmakers to ensure that this vital language reaches the President’s desk.

“As a certified broadcast captioner and real-time writer who works with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community week in and week out, I laud Congress’s passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act with the inclusion of the Training for Real-Time Writers Act language,” said NCRA President Karen Yates, CRR, CBC, CCP. “Through my daily work, I see firsthand the needs of people with hearing loss and the difficulties that some in the community have in fully accessing communication. This funding will encourage more individuals to enter the real-time writing workforce and deliver positive changes to the 30 million Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. On behalf of the 23,000 members of the National Court Reporters Association, we thank Congress and our congressional champions for moving this vital piece of legislation forward.

The passage of this legislation is a major step in ensuring equal access to information for those people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. In addition, this legislation enables the growth of the court reporting profession in order to keep up with the increasing demand for trained real-time court reporters.

More information: www.ncraonline.org

Hearing Loss Association of America sponsors national forum on disability issues featuring 2008 presidential candidates (invited).
July 26, 2008
Columbus, Ohio
12:30 - 3:30 PM, ET.

Hearing Loss Association of America is pleased to count ourselves among the more than 60 sponsors of the National Forum on Disability Issues. The event will be held on July 26, 2008, the 18th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in Columbus Ohio.  Presidential Candidates have been invited to attend and the forum is open to over a 1000 people in the disability community. CART will be available, as will sign language interpreters. We are able to sponsor this important event thanks to a generous donation from former president of HLAA, Marcia Finisdore.

Event Summary:
The National Forum on Disability Issues, featuring the 2008 Presidential Candidates (invited) is a historic, nonpartisan forum on national disability policy to be held on July 26, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio at the Conference & Technology Center of the First Church of God - an accessibility-friendly venue that will accommodate our large numbers of attendees.

The forum will feature time slots for the presidential candidates to individually present their visions for the future of disability policy in America (including employment, healthcare, long-term community-based supports, transportation, education, etc.) followed by questions by Judy Woodruff, news anchor and journalist ("The News Hour with Jim Lehrer"), who will act as the moderator.

This presidential candidates forum builds on the success of our November primary-focused forum in New Hampshire, where the disability community made history with its first-ever disability presidential candidates forum with participation from seven presidential candidates, five of them in person.

Unique Qualities:

• This is a historic, nonpartisan, cross-disability event - THE disability event of this election cycle through which the candidates can reach voters with disabilities, their families, caregivers, advocates, and friends
  • Over 1,000 in-person from Ohio and surrounding states
  • Tens of thousands listening and watching via simultaneous webcast from across the country at webcast "viewing parties"
  • The forum will also be broadcast live start to finish over all Ohio radio reading services, giving access to the event to people with disabilities who don't have a computer and aren't able to attend to attend the event in person
• Coincides with 18th anniversary of the ADA, making this a ready-made event to commemorate our great civil-rights law
• The event has garnered the sponsorship of over 60 national, state, and local disability-related groups, making this a truly community-owned event
• Several major disability veterans groups are sponsoring this event
• AARP is sponsoring this event
• News anchor and journalist Judy Woodruff (PBS, "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer") is moderating the event
• Candidates' speeches and answers to questions will be simultaneously captioned and translated by American Sign Language interpreters at the event

Other Important Facts:

The disability community is a large constituency, representing over 50 million Americans, over 37 million of whom are voting age and approximately 31.5 million Americans have a hearing loss. Add to that figure our friends, families, caregivers, and supporters, and the importance of addressing disability policy issues becomes even clearer.

Hearing Loss Association of America, with our chapter members across the country are proud sponsors of this event. We would like to see both candidates have an opportunity to present their positions at this important event. 

=======================

The Americans with Disabilities Act has transformed the nation since its enactment in 1990.  The ADA was intended to protect people with disabilities from discrimination at work and in public life.  Unfortunately, over the last decade Supreme and lower court decisions have excluded large groups of people with disabilities from receiving the employment protections.  Men and women, veterans, young adults, aging Americans – the backbone of communities and families – are caught in a Catch-22 and are often treated as “too disabled” to work but ruled “not disabled enough” to be qualified for equal rights under the ADA.  Further, these judicial restrictions block people with conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease and bipolar disorder – those whom Congress clearly intended to protect under the ADA in 1990 – from seeking protections against employment discrimination under the ADA.  The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 will re-establish these protections. 

On Wednesday, July 18, the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Judiciary Committee substituted the proposed language crafted by the disability and employer community for the original language, and passed the bills out of committee by overwhelming vote. The House Judiciary Committee was unanimous in its support for the bill as amended (27-0), and the Education and Labor Committee passed it 43-1. Only Representative Tom Price (R-GA) opposed the bill in committee.

Hearing Loss Association supports the bill as amended.  Employment issues are a real concern to people with hearing loss. We want to see people with hearing loss get the accommodations they need to get the job and to stay on the job. We believe this bill will help make that happen.

What follows is the letter we sent to Speaker Pelosi in support of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. We urge you to write your representative in support of this bill today!

June 23, 2008

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Office of the Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Via fax 202-225-4188

RE:  Support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008

Dear Madam Speaker:

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) urges you to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

The Hearing Loss Association of America is the largest consumer membership organization for people with hearing loss in the United States. Our mission is to open the world of communication for people with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy and support. We support the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) – a coalition of over 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider, and professional organizations who advocate on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families to urge passage of the ADA Amendments Act this session.

CCD has joined with this nation’s most prominent business trade organizations – including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, Society for Human Resource Management and HR Policy Association - to help secure the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The U.S. House Judiciary and House Education and Labor Committees overwhelmingly supported the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.  As you consider this legislation on the House floor, our alliance of disability, business, faith, veterans, and civil rights advocates urge you to pass the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as reported out of committee, without amendments. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act has transformed the nation since its enactment in 1990.  The ADA was intended to protect people with disabilities from discrimination at work and in public life.  As Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner stated at the House Judiciary Committee mark-up, “The ADA has been one of the most effective civil rights laws passed by Congress.  Its continued effectiveness is paramount to ensuring that the transformation that our nation has undergone continues in the future and that the guarantees and promises on which this country was established continue to be recognized on behalf of all its citizens.”

Unfortunately, over the last decade Supreme and lower court decisions have excluded large groups of people with disabilities from receiving the employment protections.  Men and women, veterans, young adults, aging Americans – the backbone of communities and families – are caught in a Catch-22 and are often treated as “too disabled” to work but ruled “not disabled enough” to be qualified for equal rights under the ADA.  Further, these judicial restrictions block people with conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart disease and bipolar disorder – those whom Congress clearly intended to protect under the ADA in 1990 – from seeking protections against employment discrimination under the ADA.  The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 will re-establish these protections. 

Hearing Loss Association of America has heard directly from our supporters that employment issues are a real concern to them.  Veterans returning from Iraq have hearing loss in significant numbers (http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/archives/2006/060321/060321g.htm) and baby boomers are beginning to age into hearing loss.  In fact, Newsweek predicted there would be some 78 million people with hearing loss of all ages in 2030 (Newsweek, June 2005).  Many of these people want to work and are able to work with accommodations on the job. 

The employer and disability community believe that there is an opportunity in this Congress to improve the ADA and address issues that have been raised by court decisions.  The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 is the product of meaningful negotiations and discussions with experts in the disability community, business and employer groups, Members of Congress, and congressional staff.  This legislation strikes a good balance between protections for individuals with disabilities and the interests of business and employers.  All involved have worked to craft legislation that will ensure all Americans have a fair opportunity to secure employment. 

Hearing Loss Association supports this legislation in concert with CCD and many other national disability and business organizations. The employer and disability communities understand the benefit of this legislation for both employers and employees because it puts more Americans to work.  We urge you to support the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 as reported out of committee without amendments. 

Sincerely,

Brenda Battat
Executive Director

=======================

Equal Access to Technology for People with Hearing and Vision Loss
COAT Hearing on the Hill

By Lise Hamlin
Director of Public Policy and State Development

May 1, 2008, Washington, D.C.: The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing on “draft legislation enhancing access to broadband technology and services for persons with disabilities.” The draft legislation is titled, “21st Century Communications and Video Programming Accessibility Act.”

Hearing Loss Association of American and many HLAA chapters are founding members of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT). COAT has been a champion of the draft legislation since its release in December. The nearly 200 members of COAT agree that legislation that ensures equal access to technology for people who are hard of hearing, deaf, blind and who have low vision is long overdue.

The Congressional hearing room was packed with disability advocates, industry representatives and interested parties. Spotted in the audience were many members of the COAT coalition, including representatives and members of Hearing Loss Association, Communication Services for the Deaf, the National Association of the Deaf, American Association of People with Disabilities, American Association of Deaf-Blind, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing, American Council of the Blind, American Foundation of the Blind, VITAC, and Snap! VRS. Also attending was I. King Jordon, past president of Gallaudet University, who was recognized and welcomed by the chair of the subcommittee, Representative Edward Markey, and by Ranking Member Cliff Sterns.

Chairman Markey set the tone, opening the hearing with comments that the regulations as they stand now are antiquated in the face of rapid advances in technology. He noted that technology is only good if we can access it, and as the population ages there will be more of us who need to find ways to access new technology.

Chairman Markey also mentioned that the resistance coming from the communications industry was “eerily similar” to opposition he faced when battling to enact the original closed-captioning law in 1990, with the help, he noted, of I. King Jordon and other disability advocates.

The chairman recalled, “We were told that mandating closed captioning would add $20 to the price of a TV set and that it was overly burdensome, would crush the industry, it would take a lifetime and a fortune to caption all the movies and television programs out there….today, not only is it indispensable to millions of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, but closed captioning is used by immigrant families to help them learn the language and seen in sports bars across the country…and it didn’t cost remotely $20, it cost about $1 per TV.”
Members of the subcommittee who spoke indicated the draft legislation provided a way that new technology could include people, and ensure that when it comes time to access new technology, no one is left behind.

Witnesses
Witnesses at the hearing speaking for COAT were: Russell Harvard, deaf actor who played in the movie There Will Be Blood, Jamaal Anderson, professional football player for the Atlanta Falcons and son of Glenn Anderson, Ph.D., past chair of Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. Sergeant Major Jesse R. Acosta, U.S. Army, veteran of the war in Iraq where he was blinded while on active duty testified on behalf of the Americans Council of the Blind and who is a member of COAT.

The COAT witnesses testified with passion and a good dose of humor. They spoke of the burdens faced when accessing new technology. 

• Russell Harvard recounted the problems in the early days of captioning when the close- captioned decoder boxes his family purchased often overheated, making captions unreadable for their favorite programs. That didn’t change until Congress required all televisions over 13” include a decoder chip. In the same way, the new legislation would bring Internet access by ensuring captioning on the Internet and devices smaller than 13” being able to decode the captions. For Russell Harvard, access to movies and television is not simply an issue of enjoying the same entertainment as everyone else, it’s a matter of being able to have access to the tools of his profession.

• Jamaal Anderson spoke poignantly of his recent draft onto the NFL team. Video clips of the draft selection were posted on the web, but without captions, forcing his father to find someone to act as an interpreter to watch his own son. Jamaal urged support for equal access to mainstream Internet products included in the draft legislation as well as inclusion of broadband services for Lifeline and Link-Up services, and hearing-aid-compatible telephones that connect to the Internet.

• Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta was amazed that his-30-year old Chrysler LeBaron included technology that would voice when the systems needed maintenance, but that he could not get voice access to products like DVRs and cable boxes.  This, he said was “beyond me.” He felt that the legislation would be a big step forward by allowing more devices to be accessible to people who are blind or have low vision with video description, with the possibility of creating way for onscreen emergency information presented in text to be voiced, and to allow audio output for on screen menus.

Other witnesses were: Larry Goldberg, director, Media Access, WGBH Boston; K. Dane Snowden, VP, External and State Affairs, CTIA, The Wireless Association; and Ken Nakata, Director of Disability Initiatives & Government Compliance for BayFirst Solutions LLC.

• Larry Goldberg from WGBH provided videos that demonstrated captioning on the web and video description. He noted that the courts had overruled the FCC’s video description requirement, arguing that Congress hadn’t clearly stated its intention to require description. The new legislation would clarify Congress’ intent. He also noted that “many hurdles remain to make captioning of web-based media as pervasive as it is on television.” In his testimony and the questions from the members following his testimony, it was clear that market pressures often don’t help the community of people with disabilities achieve equal access.

• Dane Snowden emphasized the work the wireless industry has already done to provide access to people with disabilities. He argued against the use of the “readily achievable” as the standard in any new legislation; that the legislation should not be enforced by “private right of action” litigation (i.e., the right of individuals to bring a case to court), and that the legislation should not impose new reporting requirements on either service providers or manufacturers. He said, “As currently drafted, the proposed legislation would unnecessarily burden the industry with little countervailing benefit to the disability community.”

• Ken Nakata indicated he supported the goals of the legislation but argued against including a private right of action and he argued against holding industry to a high standard, the “undue burden” standard, to ensure that equipment and services are usable by people with disabilities.

Chairman Markey’s questions after the panel spoke focused much attention on the wireless lobby, asking carriers and device manufacturers to help him set a deadline under which to work out new standards governing communication access for people with disabilities. “It’s amazing how much can get done under a deadline,” Markey said. Snowdon, representing the wireless industry, indicated their willingness to work with the subcommittee.

At the end of day, it was clear that the subcommittee and even witnesses were aware that it was not a matter of whether this kind of legislation would move forward, but when. 

The video of the hearing, with captions, can be found on the subcommittee’s website: http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti-hrg.050108.Disabilities.shtml

Congress holds Hearings May 1 on
Communication Access in the Internet Age

House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Hearings On Draft Legislation Enhancing Access to Broadband
Technology and Services for Persons with Disabilities

WHEN:           May 1, 2008, 9:30 AM

WHERE:        Room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building

Advocates are encouraged to attend this hearing and help pack the room. Celebrity witnesses will be testifying regarding their concerns about the absence of hearing aid compatibility of "Internet" phones, a lack of video description on television, so little captioning of Internet videos, the absence of funds for phone equipment for deaf-blind persons, and about other inaccessible communication technologies.

The proposed legislation, the subject of the panel, reflects the agenda of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) http://www.coataccess.org/node/1 a coalition formed in March 2007 of over 185 affiliate members. Hearing Loss Association is a founding member of COAT, and many of our chapters belong as local members. If you want more information about joining COAT, contact Lise Hamlin at LHamlin@hearingloss.org

Sign language interpreters will be present and the hearing will be captioned both in the hearing room and on the Internet broadcast.

WEBCAST: To watch this hearing on the Internet go to the Committee website http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/schedule.shtml and click on "Connect to the Video Webcast" the day and morning of the hearing.

The final list of celebrity panelists who support the proposed legislation or "Witness List" will be released soon.

TAKE ACTION: If you cannot attend, please be sure to call your House member who may be on the Committee and ask them to attend this important Hearing to learn more of our concern about people with disabilities left behind as communication technologies migrate to the Internet. View a list of Representatives, their telecom staffers and phone numbers, or call via House switchboard at 202-224-3171 (voice) or 202-224-3091 (TTY).

Please let Lise Hamlin LHamlin@hearingloss.org know if you are planning to attend the House Hearing on Thursday May 1st, in Washington DC.