Successful Senate Hearing on ADA & Technology: Markey says Industry Exaggerates Costs of Accessibility

On May 26, 2010, at 2:30 pm, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology & the Internet held a very successful hearing that focused on the issues raised by the "Equal Access to Communications in the 21st Century Act" (S. 3304). The witness on Panel 1 was the The Honorable Edward Markey, U.S. House of Representatives. On Panel 2 , there were four witnesses: Russell Harvard, Actor; Sgt. Brian Pearce (Ret.), U.S. Army; Thomas Wlodkowski, Accessibility Director, AOL Inc.; Bobbie Beth Scoggins, President of the National Association of the Deaf; and Walter McCormick, President and Chief Executive Officer, US Telecom Association.

Advocates noted the optimistic tone of Senator John Kerry's comments about the COAT-sponsored bills passing this year. Kerry chairs the subcommittee and co-sponsored introduction of S. 3304. We also noted how he held up the testimony of Walter McCormick for a few minutes when the live online captioning broke down and waited until it resumed before allowing the witness to continue. He also said that "all the testimonies today are incredibly helpful" and that he "wants all the devices and services available to everyone."

Rep. Markey said that "industry exaggerates the costs and burdens of accessibility" and fails to note the benefits of accessibility to everyone. He used the example of captioning on TV, which allows people for whom English is a Second Language to understand TV, and that also "allows guys to multi-task in bars" which generated much laughter in the hearing room. He added that "the best way to unleash their great God-given abilities is to allow people with disabilities to fully contribute," noting that "these people have waited too long."

Markey said that the "wizardry of the wires is neither good nor bad but that we need to animate them with human values, especially as our population ages." He said that "H.R. 3101 brings existing disability laws up-to-date, making for accessible, affordable and usable technologies for people with disabilities." He also said that "history shows it takes too long to make technologies accessible," and that "delay is unacceptable." Read Rep. Markey's full statement.

Panel 2 witness Sgt. Pearce (Ret.Army) -- who has lost vision and hearing due to a bomb explosion while on duty in Iraq, said, "I just want to be able to do the things that anyone else would do" and wondered "if inaccessible technology contributes to current high unemployment, especially for vets like me going back to school." He reported that he "can't find video description on TV" and "TV interfaces should be accessible to those who lose vision and hearing." He noted also that he "can't hear storm warnings on TV." In response to a question from Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) -- who also co-introduced S. 3304 -- Pearce said he'd "been through several cell phones, none accessible." Read Pearce's written statement.

Russell Harvard pleaded with the committee to "Please don't leave us behind as new digital technologies become available to the general public." Signing eloquently, he also made the point that "easy-to-use captioning controls are like volume controls for hearing people" among other statements. Harvard's full statement is attached below.

AOL's Tom Wlodowski admitted to frustration when the Internet is inaccessible. For industry, he said they want "flexibility in how accessibility is delivered". He made several points about the need for "interoperability" with assistive technologies (AT) and noted that "the cost of AT is prohibitive." Read Wlodowski's written statement.

NAD's Bobbie Beth Scoggins signed her statement, saying: "S.3304 does a lot for people who are deaf, people who are blind, people who are deaf-blind," but she "wants advanced communications definition & undue burden standard as found in H.R. 3101." She opined that "industry designs for younger people," and asked for "the digital tools that allow for independence of people with disabilities." Scoggin's full statement is attached below.

Walter McCormick, from USTA, conveyed his opinion that "most problems had been worked out with the legislation" and "it would not take much time to work out the rest." He said that "S. 3304 leaves the FCC to decide what companies make what products accessible [whereas] the HR 3101 definition is better." McCormick added that "the compliance standard in H.R.3101 is better than in S.3304 and that it corresponds to the standard included in the National Broadband Plan."

In response to a question from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), McCormick said USTA "supports real time text and the aspirations of the consumers on panel."Read McCormick's written statement.

Over 100 people attended the hearing, many being people from industry as well as a strong contingent of consumer representatives. Representatives were also present from two federal agencies, the US Access Board and the FCC. Advocates noted how cramped the room was, making difficulties for the two users of wheelchairs and others with physical disabilities who attended.

Full testimonies by some of the witnesses are attached below.

See video of hearing (with captions). Note: Advance the video to 18 minutes and 45 seconds to see and/or hear the actual start of the hearing.

Read the Tweets (not verbatim record) from @coataccess, also attached below.

Read NAD blog on Hearing, with photo.

By invitation, because she was unable to attend the hearing, Marlee Matlin,a deaf actress, submitted a written statement (attached below).