Senate Passes S. 3304 by Unanimous Consent

HLAA, alongside COAT, celebrates the passage of the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (S. 3304) by the U.S. Senate on August 5, 2010, by unanimous consent.

Here’s the word from the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT):

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Due to the extraordinary efforts of advocates across the country and in Washington, DC, COAT secured a monumental step forward in accessible technology. Special thank you to all advocates in Oklahoma who urged Senator Coburn to support S. 3304. (See COAT special action alert for Oklahoma at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9771) Your advocacy efforts were successful!

Earlier this week, Senator Pryor (D-AR) introduced an amendment to improve S. 3304. S. 3304, as amended, was passed by U.S. Senate by unanimous consent. Like H.R. 3101, which was passed on July 26, 2010, S. 3304 will also:

• Require captioned television programs to be captioned when delivered over the Internet
• Authorize the FCC to require 7 hours per week of video description on the top 4 network channels and top 5 cable channels nationwide.
• Allocate up to $10 million per year for equipment used by individuals who are deaf-blind.-- Require televised emergency information to be accessible to individuals who are blind or have low vision.
• Require accessible advanced communications equipment and services, such as text messaging and e-mail.
• Require access to Internet services that are built-in to mobile telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
• Require devices of any size to be capable of displaying closed captioning, delivering available video description, and making emergency information accessible.
• Require accessible user controls for televisions and set-top boxes, and easy access to closed captioning and video description.

And more.

For more information, see the section-by-section summary of what S. 3304 (as amended) will do for us at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9776

S. 3304 will now go to the House of Representatives. COAT supports and expects the House will pass S. 3304 soon.

Job well done, everyone! Like the ADA 20 years ago, you are making history now!

Rosaline
For the COAT Steering Committee
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I must add that we have watched the COAT Steering Committee from the beginning work miracles with this legislation. Theirs was extraordinary work by talented individuals supported by a coalition of over 300 national, state and local organizations. They put in long hours negotiating with representatives from the many different industries impacted by this bill. They then attended meetings with members of Congress, many of whom had little background in disability issues. All that hard work has resulted in legislation that will serve us well in the future. Kudos to the Steering Committee! Kudos also to those members of Industry who negotiated in good faith with the idea in mind that serving people with sensory disabilities just makes sense!

But none of this could have happened without the support of local advocates across the county. Those advocates spent their time meeting Congressional representatives, sending letters and email, phoning in their support of HR 3101 and S 3304. It was all of us working together that made this happen. It brings to mind what Margaret Mead said so many years ago, still true today:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, U.S. anthropologist (1901 - 1978)