Differences Remain as Disabilities Bill Moves to House Commerce

摘要

The House Communications Subcommittee approved Internet accessibility legislation in a nvoice vote Wednesday afternoon, with a manager’s amendment by Subcommittee Chairman nRick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher said he hoped to offer another manager’s amendment later to naddress “remaining points of difference,” including those related to video description nrules. The amended HR-3101 requires accessibility to be built into all equipment and services nused for VoIP, electronic messaging and videoconferencing, unless the requirement is “not nachievable.” The amended bill defines “achievable” as “with reasonable effort or expense," as ndetermined and enforced by the FCC. The original bill exempted companies that showed nthere would be "undue burden." Among other changes, the new version would direct the FCC nto reinstate video description rules that were struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the nD.C. Circuit. The bill's sponsor Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., raised concerns about the video ndescription language. He praised the provision's intent, but complained that the amendment nsets up an "unnecessarily lengthy" two-year process to reinstate the description rule. And the nrules should apply to more than just the top 25 media markets, he said.