« NAD Participates in FCC 10-Digit Numbering Workshop | Main | Other News Highlights »
NAD Participates in Hearing on Capitol Hill
By advocacy | May 12, 2008
Celebrity witnesses testified on May 1, 2008, at a House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet hearing on “Enhancing Access to Broadband Technology and Services for Persons with Disabilities.” Witnesses included: Jamaal Anderson, defensive end and 2007 first round draft pick of the NFL Atlanta Falcons whose father is Dr. Glenn Anderson, a leading deaf educator and former board member of Gallaudet University; Russell Harvard, a deaf actor appearing in the double-academy award winning movie, There Will Be Blood; and Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta, a distinguished army veteran who was injured and blinded in Iraq. These witnesses did a fabulous job, injecting their testimony with passion, personal experiences, and humor.
Draft legislation, called the “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008,” is being considered. This legislative effort is being lead by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), which was co-founded by the NAD. To learn more about COAT, visit www.COATaccess.org or click on “About COAT” (to view ASL video and transcript).
Visit the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet web page about the hearing on May 1 to find:
• a copy of the captioned video webcast of the hearing;
• a witness list with links to their prepared testimony; and
• a link to the April 25, 2008 draft of the bill.
Read other articles about the hearing:
“Equal Access to Technology for People with Hearing and Vision Loss
COAT Hearing on the Hill”
“Democrat wants to require disability-friendly Internet phones, video”
Topics: General |