Every now and again, people on every end of the political spectrum agree on things. Unfortunately, these rare glimpses of agreement and progress don’t get much press. One such occurrence happened right before legislators earlier this month.
Congress approved the “21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act,” a bill that would make new primarily Internet-based technologies more readily available to the blind or deaf.
The whip count in each house was staggering. It passed with unanimous consent in the Senate. The House approved it with a vote of 348-23. Passage of the bill came on the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Key tenets of the new bill include easier Smartphone programs for the visually impaired and a $10 million a year program to help low income visually- or hearing-impaired people buy services that make the Internet more accessible.
Programs that make phone calls over the Internet, like Skype, need to be suited for hearing aids, and close captioning is mandated for television shows watched over the Internet.
Many of us take our vision and hearing for granted. According to the Research to Prevent Blindness, 15 million people in the United States are blind. The American Foundation for the Blind estimates close to 91,500 blind people live in Arizona – 45,400 of those people are ages 18 to 64.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 36 million adults in America suffer hearing loss to some degree.
Combined, approximately 51 million Americans suffer from hearing or vision deficiencies. This bill now helps many people use technology the way that others use it. Whether it is for communication, business, education or sheer enjoyment, those with disabilities will now have an easier time with new devices.
The legislation ensures the disabled have a voice in the development of new technologies that affect them directly. The bill creates advisory councils that are required to include people with disabilities for the development of Internet, television and phone technologies that aid people, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Passing this bill is a significant victory for the U.S. and those who live with hearing or vision problems. What strikes me as odd though, is that the press did not report the passage of this bill with the fanfare it deserves. Maybe such overwhelming agreements aren’t newsworthy or don’t fit the divisive narrative this country seems to be following.
Either way, we should relish in this moment and understand that we can still ensure that all of our citizens have that equal opportunity that defines the American dream.
Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu
