Save the Date–October 16th at 10 am
3. July 2010 by Cape Cod Chapter HLAA Blog.
Brenda Battat, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, will speak at the Saturday, October 16th meeting.
Senate Bill S 3304, “Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act of 2010
22. May 2010 by Cape Cod Chapter HLAA Blog.
Read this information from our National headquarters in Washington, and thank Senator Kerry!
HLAA sent the following letter of thanks to co sponsors of S. 3304:
May 21, 2010
Senator John F. Kerry, Chairman
Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
Senator Mark L. Pryor, Member
Senate Subcommittee on Communications,Technology and the Internet
Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Member
Senate Subcommittee on Communications,Technology and the Internet
Senator Kent Conrad
Re: “Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act of 2010” (S. 3304)
Dear Chairman and Senators:
Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) wishes to express our deep
and profound thanks for the momentous and significant introduction of
the “Equal Access to 21st Century Communications Act of 2010” (S.
3304). S. 3304 will advance modernization of the current disability
accessibility mandates in the Communications Act for communication and
video programming products and services. This bill, helping to ensure
accessible telecommunications technologies, is a major step forward for
people with disabilities.
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is the nation’s leading
grassroots organization representing the rights of people with hearing
loss. The HLAA mission is to open the world of communication to people
with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy, and
support. HLAA impacts accessibility, public policy, research, public
awareness, and service delivery related to hearing loss on a national
and local level. HLAA’s national support network includes 200 local
chapters nationwide, 14 state organizations and an office just outside
Washington, DC.
HLAA is encouraged by the introduction of S. 3304. In this year of the
20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passage
of S. 3304 will affirm the principles of equal access, equal
opportunity, and equal participation for people with disabilities to
communications, technology, and the Internet. Communications
technologies are essential components of daily life; inextricably woven
into the fabric of modern life. Such technologies – when designed and
developed to be accessible – enable new levels of independence and
civic engagement for all Americans.
HLAA is particularly pleased to see that S. 3304 contains the following
key provisions:
Increasing Communications Access
- Requires access to phone-type equipment and services used for
advanced communications
- Adds improved accountability and enforcement measures, including a
clearinghouse and reporting obligations by providers and manufacturers
- Requires telephone products used for advanced communications to be
hearing aid compatible
- Allows use of Lifeline and Link-up universal service funds (USF) for
broadband
- Allocates up to $10 million/year for equipment used by people who are
deaf-blind
- Clarifies the scope of relay services to include calls between and
among people with disabilities and requires interconnected VoIP service
providers to contribute to the Relay Service Fund
- Requires FCC to develop real-time text digital standard
Video Programming Access
- Requires caption decoder circuitry or display capability in all video
programming devices
- Extends closed captioning obligations to video programming
distributed over the Internet
- Requires easy access to closed captions via remote control and
on-screen menus
- Requires easy access by blind people to television controls and
on-screen menus
- Restores video description rules and requires access to televised
emergency programming for people who are blind or have low vision
HLAA is committed to working with you and others on S. 3304. We do
advocate for defining “covered advanced communications” to include
non-interconnected as well as interconnected VoIP, video conferencing,
and electronic messaging (to ensure access to SMS text messaging,
electronic mail, and instant messaging); adoption of the
well-established and appropriate undue burden compliance standard for
prospective obligations; extending relay service obligations to
non-interconnected VoIP providers; and timely action by the delegated
authority.
We look to your leadership to establish significant new achievements in
communications technology accessibility for people with disabilities.
We believe a Senate Hearing would be another significant step forward
in conquering the barriers to accessibility and usability that our
members and constituents encounter daily at home, in the workplace, in
the classroom, and in their community, in this fast-paced,
technology-driven modern world.
HLAA is committed to working with you and the whole Committee to ensure
strong legislation that will take all of us into a new world of 21st
Century communications that work for everyone.
Sincerely,
Brenda Battat
Executive Director
The letter was sent via fax and US Mail to:
Senator John F. Kerry, Chairman
Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Via Fax 202-224-8525
Senator Mark L. Pryor, Member
Senate Subcommittee on Communications,Technology and the Internet
225 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Via Fax 202-228-0908
Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Member
Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
Via Fax 202-224-1193
Senator Kent Conrad
530 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Via Fax 202-224-7776
Brenda Battat–Walk For Hearing–Hair Cell Regeneration–VRS Fraud and more
7. December 2009 by Cape Cod Chapter HLAA Blog.
Posted by: “Brenda Battat, Executive Director” battat@hearingloss.org
Sat Dec 5, 2009 5:13 pm (PST)
Original Post here: http://brendabattat.blogspot.com/
* The HLAA Board of Trustees met November 6 and 7, 2009, in Bethesda,
MD. A wine and cheese reception was held on Friday night and several
leaders of professional and consumer organizations attended to meet the board members. The meeting was held for the first time in the
newly-renovated conference room in the HLAA offices. Audio visual and
assistive listening systems were coordinated by Joe Duarte of Duartek
who donated his time to design, order, and install the equipment.
Ampetronics, a UK company, donated the low-spill loop that was
installed under the carpet during renovation. We also have infrared for confidentiality. We have two flat screen TVs� one for CART and one for PowerPoint presentations. Colin Cantlie from the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association donated one of the TVs.
The Board approved the 2010 budget that included the addition of an
administrative assistant for the national walk manager. The Treasurer
reported that HLAA is in a sounder financial situation as a result of
better than expected revenues from the Nashville convention, the walks, and careful management of expenses. The 990 was approved and will be posted to the website. Three new board members were welcomed: Diana Bender, PA, Joe Montano, NY, and James DeCaro, NY. A new ad hoc
membership committee was established to be chaired by Joe Montano.
* The walks are over for 2009. We met our very ambitious goal of 1
million! and there are still donations to be posted. We are working on
getting 2010 walks up and running and preparing a final report for
national sponsors on all 2009 walks.
* The web chat on hair cell regeneration by Douglas Cotanche, Ph.D.,
broke all HLAA web chat records with 85 participants. To view the
transcript go to http://www.hearingloss.org/Community/transcripts.asp
* Video of CBS News Report on VRS Indictments: The CBS Evening News
report by Katie Couric on the indictments for Video Relay Service fraud can now be viewed with closed captioning on the website of the
Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf.
http://ccosd.org/2009/11/20/vrsfraud/
* The big news all over the Internet is the Google/YouTube initiative
to caption videos on YouTube. HLAA staff attended the announcement in
Google’s Washington, D.C., office. Twenty hours of video are uploaded
to YouTube every hour. Video producers can easily caption their videos
as Google has developed software to automatically write the time codes
for the captions. All the video producer has to do is upload the
transcript. Then viewers click on the transcript button and captions
will be generated by machine through voice recognition. Google is
testing this with 13 educational partners to get feedback and improve
the program. The captions allow the videos to be searched by text and
even to search for specific text in the video. Also the captions can be subtitled in 51 languages. So a video could be viewed in other
languages. This is an amazing innovation. The scale is enormous and
brings captions to a very visible place on the Internet.
* FCC Field Hearing: Broadband Access for People with Disabilities
[The following excerpt is from the HLAA comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission for their Field Hearing on the need for broadband access for people with disabilities by Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy and State Development for HLAA on November 6, 2009. at Gallaudet University. Full text of the comments will be available after December 15, 2009, on the HLAA website and via the December 15 eNews.]
I am here today to provide another aspect on the issue of disability
and broadband. Members of HLAA tend to be adults with some kind of
hearing loss, ranging from a moderate to severe, even profound loss.
We find that we use every tool in the communication toolbox; residual
hearing with hearing aids, assistive listening devices, speechreading
and other visual clues, text, as well as sign language. Our members
typically are not two feet in either the world of people who can hear
fully, or the world of people who sign as their primary mode of
communication. A little of all helps us communicate.
I want to emphasize the need to remember that the disability community
is not monolithic. It would be far easier if we all could be
accommodated in the same way. But we can’t. Providing only enough
bandwidth to allow spoken words would exclude people who need broadband access that is fast enough and clear enough to be able to read sign language. Likewise, people with hearing loss who use their residual hearing need broadband that is visually accessible, and includes audio so we can plug into the computer and use our residual hearing, and also provides for text, preferably real time text, so we can read what we missed. We need all three provided to make broadband truly accessible. This can be done today.
Still, we are at a crossroads. Broadband presents people with hearing
loss both a great opportunity, and a great threat. It provides us with
the opportunity to level the playing field. Because much of the
Internet is text-based, it has the potential to also provide accessible connection to family, friends, employers, health care providers, teachers, professionals, entertainment and cultural activities. This translates into better jobs, better health, and with it, the possibility of greater inclusion for a better quality of life. But, if broadband becomes inaccessible or unaffordable to people with disabilities, we are excluded from all of the possibilities that are now available to those who can hear, and those who can afford it.
Broadband providers charge substantial fees to access services. They do not offer discounts to people with hearing loss when they are not able to access information. That’s why we need the Commission to step forward and mandate access companies are not providing on their own.
–
Posted By Brenda Battat, Executive Director to Brenda Battat, Executive
Director at 12/05/2009 06:41:00 PM