COAT advocates for accessibility and usability of technology for people with disabilities. Enacting the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (21st CVAA) was a huge step forward and we are working to implement this new law. COAT’s overall aim is to ensure accessibility, usability, and affordability of all broadband, wireless, and Internet technologies for people with disabilities.

S.3304: News stories Emphasize Benefits & Opportunities for People with Disabilities

May 7, 2010. News stories on S. 3304 emphasize benefits and opportunities for people who are deaf, blind or with vision impairments. Here are some reports:

Senator Mark Pryor quoted in Arkansas News: "We’re seeing more and more programming go to the Internet, and it would seem to me it’s very sensible that that closed captioning should follow the programming onto the Internet.” The Hill news, widely read on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, in it's column, Hillicon Valley Tech Blog, said S.3304 is "Pryor's attempt to address accessibility problems that have long made it difficult for disabled persons to use new media and technology tools." Television coverage by KTHV Channel 11, Little Rock Arkansas, reported that the bill "will improve overall access to audio and visual materials on the Internet for the deaf and blind."

COAT Press Release.

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Andrew Phillips, National Association of the Deaf; Eric Bridges, American Council of the Blind; Mark Richert, American Foundation for the Blind; and Jenifer Simpson, American Association of People with Disabilities, outside the FCC building, Washington DC, after meetings on pending rules under 21st CVAA.

Celebration of the bill's final passage

Rep. Ed Markey and Legislative Director Mark Bayer celebrate the bill’s final passage on September 28, 2010, in front of the Helen Keller statue, with the leaders from the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology: Karen Peltz Strauss, formerly with Communication Service for the Deaf; Jenifer Simpson, American Association of People with Disabilities; Rosaline Crawford, National Association of the Deaf. Their hands symbolize clapping in sign language.

Congressman Ed Markey in photo of Congressional hearing room dais. Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA), center, introduced the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009 (H.R. 3101) on June 26, 2009.

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President Obama signs the Accessibility Act

President Obama signed the 21^st
Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act into law on October 8, 2010, with many key advocates and lawmakers in attendance.