Progress of the Bill

On February 23 and 24, 2010, over one hundred ACB representatives met with their Representatives and Senators on a legislative agenda that included H.R. 3101. As a result, an additional eight Representatives are co-sponsoring the measure. New states with legislators supporting HR 3101 include Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas with additional co-sponsors also added from California, Massachusetts and New York. See full list of HR 3101 co-sponsors.

On Friday February 26, 2010, COAT leaders met again with various industry representatives to discuss the Video Programming provisions in HR 3101, which had not yet been directly discussed in previous talks.  These provisions -- Sections 201 thru 205 found in Title II --  address closed captioning, reinstatement of video description, accessible emergency information on TV, and accessible user program & device control interfaces.

COAT affiliate, American Council of the Blind (ACB), held its annual legislative seminar Monday February 22, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia. A key policy item was H.R. 3101, which includes over five provisions that, if enacted, will greatly benefit people with vision disabilities. Eric Bridges, ACB's Director of Advocacy & Government Affairs, summarized the five key provisions at the seminar:

On February 18, 2010, COAT representatives from AAPD, ACB, CSD and WGBH-Media Access Group met with majority staff from the U.S.

On February 16, 2010, at about 11:05 p.m., Ray Campbell, Board member at COAT affiliate American Council of the Blind, spoke about HR 3101 on WGN Radio 720 AM, broadcasting from Chicago, Illinois. The radio program,  "The Steve and Johnnie Show," focused on how the digital TV transition left viewers with vision disabilities behind.

Friday, February 12, 2010, Washington, DC:--COAT organizational leaders are back to work on HR 3101 despite two record-breaking snow blizzards the past week that shut down several meetings and activities that would have advanced HR 3101. Talks arranged with major industry organizations and companies scheduled on Feb. 3 (CTIA, NCTA, CEA et al.), Feb. 8 (Google) and Feb.

In a fourth session of talks with representatives from industry on January 22, 2010, five COAT leaders from AAPD, ACB, AFB, CSD and NAD, met for over three hours to discuss various provisions in HR 3101. Topics included the standard for accessibility, scope of  equipment and services, and some aspects of compliance. Cost of accessibility was raised by industry representatives.