Senator Reintroduces Bill to Increase Captioning for 30 Million Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Americans
(Vienna, VA, February 21, 2007) – The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) applauded Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today for his recent introduction of S. 675, a bill that would provide competitive grants for training court reporters and closed captioners to meet requirements for realtime writers under the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
A longstanding champion of persons with disabilities, Harkin’s support of S. 675 represents the third time that the bill has been introduced in the Senate since enactment of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The act required the captioning of all new television programming by January 1, 2006, but it was an unfunded mandate. As a result, the requirements have not been met, and without Congressional action, nearly 30 million Americans will not be able to fully and actively participate in their professional, educational and civic lives.
“We at NCRA greatly appreciate Senator Harkin’s persistence and diligent support of more resources to train realtime court reporters and closed captioners,” Mark Golden, Executive Director and CEO of NCRA, said. “Senator Harkin fully understands and appreciates the fact that all Americans deserve full communication access. Moreover, he is continually taking the necessary action to increase our nation’s training capabilities. With his leadership, we are confident that S. 675 will pass through the Senate once again by a unanimous vote.” The bill has passed the Senate twice and stalled in the House of Representatives.
“The need for this legislation is immediate and profound,” said Golden. “9-11 taught America many hard lessons, among them the importance of an accessible public communications system for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It is equally vital that all Americans participate in all aspects of life, and Sen. Harkin’s bill helps make that a reality,” he continued. “We will intensify our efforts to ensure that both houses of Congress pass this important legislation.”
Senator Harkin has not only been a national leader on disability policy, he also proudly supports the need to increase captioners and realtime reporters at the local level in Iowa. The AIB College of Business, located in Des Moines, is one only of only 68 schools certified by NCRA to offer realtime captioning as part of its court reporter training program.
This bill is cosponsored by 10 Senators: Thad Cochran (R-MS), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John F. Kerry (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WV) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). With strong Senate support, NCRA is one step closer to ensuring that every deaf and hard-of-hearing person has full and effective access to all television programming and emergency communications.