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March 14, 2007 The Hon. Alberto R. Gonzales Dear Attorney General Gonzales: On behalf of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Technology and Telecommunications Task Force we are writing to express our deep disappointment in the U.S. Department of Justice's neglect of its oversight responsibilities concerning federal agencies' procurement and deployment of accessible electronic and information technologies. Specifically, we are troubled by the Department's consistent delay and disinvestment in the monitoring and reporting activities necessary to assure federal government compliance with the requirements of Sec. 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and we urge the Department to move swiftly to complete such work this year. While specific federal agency compliance with the procurement and Internet accessibility requirements of Sec. 508 is enforced through the complaint and procurement processes particular to each agency in question, the Justice Department has the responsibility to issue periodic reports on compliance with these requirements across agencies generally (29 USC 794d(d)(2)). This reporting function, which is to occur biennially, has consistently fallen behind schedule and, as of this writing, is well over four years past due. We note that, at least with respect to the need to monitor federal agency compliance with Sec. 508's Internet accessibility requirements, the data collection has already been completed by the General Services Administration and simply awaits evaluation. Surely the Department can, at a minimum, muster the relatively modest resources required to complete analysis and publication of findings during this calendar year. We know you share our growing concern about the diminishing employment of people with disabilities by the federal government. It is absolutely imperative that federal agencies do not erect needless obstacles to their current and prospective employees with disabilities, and the Department's reporting role can play an important part in identifying these barriers. Moreover, as efforts currently being undertaken by the U.S. Access Board to "refresh" the standards to be applied under Sec. 508 move forward, fundamental questions about compliance with existing standards and the need for expanded enforcement will continue to be raised. The Department can greatly aid in the development of future public policy in this area by offering an authoritative assessment of federal agencies' compliance. We hope that such a comprehensive assessment by the Department will be forthcoming soon to ensure its relevance to such a discussion. Thank you for your leadership in ensuring the Department's prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jenifer Simpson, Co-Chair Day Al Mohamed, Co-Chair Mark Richert, Co-Chair The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a Coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C. (A list of members is available at www.c-c-d.org.) Since 1973, the CCD has advocated on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families. CCD has worked to achieve federal legislation and regulations that assure that the 54 million children and adults with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream of society. The Rights Task Force has more than 30 member organizations.
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