Passage of 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010

COAT celebrates the passage of the Twenty-first Century Communications 
and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (S. 3304) by the U.S. Senate on 
August 5, 2010, by unanimous consent.

Due to the extraordinary efforts of advocates across the country and 
in Washington, DC, COAT secured a monumental step forward in 
accessible technology.

Earlier this week, Senator Pryor (D-AR) introduced an amendment to 
improve S. 3304. S. 3304, as amended, was passed by U.S. Senate by 
unanimous consent. Like H.R. 3101, which was passed on July 26, 2010, 
S. 3304 will also:

-- Require captioned television programs to be captioned when 
delivered over the Internet.
-- Authorize the FCC to require 7 hours per week of video description 
on the top 4 network channels and top 5 cable channels nationwide.
-- Allocate up to $10 million per year for equipment used by 
individuals who are deaf-blind.
-- Require televised emergency information to be accessible to 
individuals who are blind or have low vision.
-- Require accessible advanced communications equipment and services, 
such as text messaging and e-mail.
-- Require access to Internet services that are built-in to mobile 
telephone devices, like smart phones, if achievable.
-- Require devices of any size to be capable of displaying closed 
captioning, delivering available video description, and making 
emergency information accessible.
-- Require accessible user controls for televisions and set-top boxes, 
and easy access to closed captioning and video description.
-- And more.

For more information, see the section-by-section summary of what S.
3304 (as amended) will do for us at http://www.coataccess.org/node/9776.

S. 3304 will now go to the House of Representatives. COAT supports 
and expects the House will pass S. 3304 soon.

Job well done, everyone! Like the ADA 20 years ago, you are making 
history now!

Rosaline
For the COAT Steering Committee