June 16, 2006

Senator John McCain
United States Senate
241 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Bill Nelson
United States Senate
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators McCain and Nelson:

We understand that when the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation considers the “Communications, Consumers’ Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006,” you and Senator Nelson intend to offer amendments that will strengthen the disability access provisions in this bill. As you know, the current draft extends the following sections of the Communications Act to IP-enabled voice service providers and manufacturers:

• the telecommunications relay services provisions of Section 225;
• the access to telecommunications equipment and services provisions of Section 255; and
• the hearing aid compatibility provisions of Section 710.

In addition, the bill proposes to restore the FCC’s video description mandates previously overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

We understand that your amendments will:

• Ensure that customer premises equipment is covered by the provision extending the obligations of Section 255 to IP-enabled voice service manufacturers;
• Create a requirement for the FCC to submit a biennial report to Congress that assesses the level of compliance with the disability access provisions and evaluates the extent to which any accessibility barriers still exist with respect to new technologies and hearing aid compatibility;
• Ensure that persons with disabilities are represented in any digital television transition working group or committees;
• Ensure that the distribution of printed items from the digital TV working group are available in alternate formats for persons with vision and learning disabilities, and other alternative formats, including but not limited to, accessible web sites for persons with disabilities; and
• Assist in ensuring that the video description rules that had been repealed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will be reinstated.

The undersigned groups and individuals, who advocate on behalf of the rights of millions of Americans with disabilities for full access to our nation’s communications infrastructures, strongly support your amendments. The transformation that is underway in communications technologies and services will provide the potential for accessible IP-enabled services to dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities. As you clearly recognize, people with disabilities can only gain equal access to the exciting and innovative Internet-enabled products and services that are entering the marketplace through affirmative Congressional action.

We believe that your amendments will assist in achieving the above objectives, and wish to express our sincere appreciation for your strong leadership on this critical issue.

Sincerely,

American Association of People with Disabilities
American Council of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
Alliance for Public Technology
California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Communication Service for the Deaf
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network*
Hearing Loss Association of America
Inclusive Technologies
Mission Consulting
National Association of the Deaf
National Center for Accessible Media
Northern Virginia Resource Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
World Institute on Disability

* The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network includes various additional organizations. In all, the member organizations of DHHCAN include American Association of the Deaf-Blind, American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, Association of Late-Deafened Adults, American Society for Deaf Children, The Caption Center – WGBH, Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf, Communication Service for the Deaf, Deaf Seniors of America, Gallaudet University, Gallaudet University Alumni Association, National Association of the Deaf, National Catholic Office of the Deaf, Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Sorenson Communications, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., and USA Deaf Sports Federation.