August 18, 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:

The coalition of disability groups with critical interests in the accessibility and usability of telecommunications services and products supports the following sections of the “Advanced Telecommunications and Opportunity Reform Act:”

• Application of the rights, duties, and obligations contained in Sections 225, 255 and 710 of the Act to all IP-enabled voice service providers and manufacturers of IP-enabled voice service equipment and customer premises equipment.
  
  
• A requirement for the FCC to coordinate with the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in promulgating regulations within one year to achieve compliance with the above accessibility mandates.
  
  
• A requirement for the FCC to report biannually to House and Senate committees on compliance with these accessibility mandates.
  
  
• Authorization for the FCC to reinstate video description regulations for digital and analog television programming.
  
  
• A requirement for a disability representative to participate in the Digital TV Working Group.
  
  
• A requirement for the Digital TV working group to recommend to the FCC procedures for providing outreach to people with disabilities in alternate formats.
  
  

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, believe that the above provisions are needed to ensure that all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, will be able to participate in and benefit from IP-based services that are becoming commonplace in work, education, government and leisure.

We appreciate greatly your strong leadership in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities on these critical issues.

Sincerely,

American Association of People with Disabilities
American Council of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
Alliance for Public Technology
APSE: The Network on Employment (Formerly the Association for Persons in Supported Employment)
Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs
Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Audio Description International
California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Communication Service for the Deaf
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN)*
Hearing Loss Association of America
Independent Living Network
Macular Degeneration Association
Mission Consulting
National Association of Private Special Education Centers
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of the Deaf
National Center for Accessible Media
National Coalition for Disability Rights
National Down Syndrome Society
National Industries for the Severely Handicapped
Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
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.