[Massachusetts-NFB] Congress is back in session, please call them today!!!
sharawinton at gmail.com
sharawinton at gmail.com
Wed Nov 16 14:19:18 UTC 2022
Great News Massachusetts!!! Senator Elizabeth Warren has joined as a
cosponsor for S. 4998, The Websites and Software Applications
Accessibility Act !Thank you to everyone who contacted her. A extra big
shout out to Justin Salisbury who followed up with her staff several times.
We now have both our Senators as co-sponsors for this bill!
Now let's get all of our U.S. Congress People on board! The house Bill is
H.R. 9021 .
Below you will find all of our reps listed, followed by a message from our
National Office with all the details. Please let me know when you have
reached out to your representative. Thank you!!
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/richard_neal/400291>
1st District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/richard_neal/400291> Richard Neal
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2013
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/1> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/james_mcgovern/400263>
2nd District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/james_mcgovern/400263> James
"Jim" McGovern
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2013
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/2> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/lori_trahan/412781>
3rd District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/lori_trahan/412781> Lori Trahan
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2019
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/3> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/jake_auchincloss/456825>
4th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/jake_auchincloss/456825> Jake
Auchincloss
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2021
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/4> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/katherine_clark/412600>
5th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/katherine_clark/412600> Katherine
Clark
Democrat
Since Dec 12, 2013
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/5> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/seth_moulton/412632>
6th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/seth_moulton/412632> Seth Moulton
Democrat
Since Jan 6, 2015
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/6> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ayanna_pressley/412782>
7th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/ayanna_pressley/412782> Ayanna
Pressley
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2019
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/7> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/stephen_lynch/400249>
8th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/stephen_lynch/400249> Stephen
Lynch
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2013
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/8> View District Map
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/william_keating/412435>
9th District
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/william_keating/412435> William
Keating
Democrat
Since Jan 3, 2013
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/MA/9> View District Map
All representatives serve until the end of the current Congress on Jan 3,
2023.
From: NFBNet-Members-List <nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org
<mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Kaloc, Jeff
via NFBNet-Members-List
Sent: Sunday, October 9, 2022 11:45 AM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org <mailto:nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] The Websites and Software Applications
Accessibility Act S. 4998/ H.R. 9021
Good morning fellow Federationist:
Thank you for your patients and hard work. The Websites and Software
Applications Accessibility Act has been introduced in both the House and the
Senate. The House bill number is H.R. 9021 and Senate bill number is S.
4998. It will take Congress.gov sometime to input the bill text on their
website so I attached the bill text to this email. While the National
Federation of the Blind organized and began the efforts to introduce this
bill, other organizations were key to its introduction. Those organizations
are the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the
Blind, and the National Disability Rights Network.
The following links will lead you to multiple press releases. First the
joint press release
<https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/senator-duckworth-and-representative-sa
rbanes-introduce-bill-make-websites-and-software-accessible> from the
National Federations of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, the
American Foundation for the Blind, and the National Disability Rights
Network. Next a press release from Senator Duckworth
<https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-sarbanes-int
roduce-bicameral-legislation-to-help-make-websites-and-software-applications
-accessible-for-americans-with-disabilities> , the sponsor of the bill in
the Senate. Lastly, a press release from Representative Sarbanes
<https://sarbanes.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sarbanes-duckworth-i
ntroduce-bicameral-legislation-help-make-websites> , the sponsor of the bill
in the House. In addition, the Washington Post has written an article
outlining the importance of the bill below:
Noted: Sen. Duckworth introduces bill to improve internet access for people
with disabilities
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-u
s.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FwlkbCv29OnF74o6yUQf53H%3Fdomain%3Dwashingtonpost.com&da
ta=05%7C01%7Cjkaloc%40nfb.org%7C8993da676db34930c3d408daa2ebaf7c%7C538f3d4b7
39545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C638001430442993727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d
8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7
C%7C%7C&sdata=jZM4Bp%2BCdxGCmUmzeqgVqPVmnmDh5rC1A7E3cI5KI5k%3D&reserved=0>
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By
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-u
s.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FZYLOCwpRPosGPX1RSqvxbs%3Fdomain%3Dwashingtonpost.com%2F
&data=05%7C01%7Cjkaloc%40nfb.org%7C8993da676db34930c3d408daa2ebaf7c%7C538f3d
4b739545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C638001430442993727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZs
b3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C300
0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=EwEkgckQQ%2BtykZMKF2s%2Fu%2B7FAieSuO%2FCwDLKdA5B02w%3D&rese
rved=0> Amanda Morris
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced a bill Thursday that aims to
improve internet access for people with disabilities.
Access has been especially difficult for blind and low-vision people, who
have had issues using websites and have been pushing for improvements for
years. Some of the most common issues, according to advocates supporting the
bill, involve images and other items, such as buttons or headings on a
website, being unlabeled or mislabeled in a way that blind people cannot
navigate using screen readers, a device that reads labels and text fields
out loud.
Despite numerous lawsuits against websites that blind people said were
inaccessible, legal requirements for businesses and website creators have
remained murky, the advocates say.
The Department of Justice attempted to clarify the issue earlier this year
by issuing
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-u
s.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FoNYICxk7QpI1BKAQUY85hO%3Fdomain%3Dbeta.ada.gov%2F&data=
05%7C01%7Cjkaloc%40nfb.org%7C8993da676db34930c3d408daa2ebaf7c%7C538f3d4b7395
45cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C638001430442993727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8ey
JWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7
C%7C&sdata=LnSyqdB%2Br%2FtpjyMguiPyDdQUfiz2ZJBCXuY2IwN86TQ%3D&reserved=0>
guidance that the Americans With Disabilities Act applies to all online
goods and services offered by public businesses and organizations. But Mark
Riccobono, the president of the National Federation of the Blind, which is a
key supporter of Duckworth's bill, says that without a clear legal standard
for what websites must do to be considered accessible, court rulings on the
issue have been inconsistent.
"There's still a lot of confusion and misinformation about web
accessibility, the requirements and the standards," he said. "Blind people,
in the meantime, are left waiting, and we believe it's time for Congress to
speak on this issue."
Duckworth's Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act aims to
clear this confusion by directing the Department of Justice and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission to create and enforce legal accessibility
standards for websites. If the bill becomes a law, it would also give the
U.S. Attorney General the ability to impose a civil penalty on websites that
do not comply with the standards.
Duckworth said the goal of the legislation, though, isn't to open up a "rash
of federal lawsuits," but to help businesses provide services to more people
and have greater clarity on what standards would be most appropriate.
To help ease the transition, her legislation would also establish a
technical assistance center and advisory committee to provide advice and
resources to help website designers and others meet new accessibility
standards.
Ensuring online accessibility has grown more critical since the pandemic,
said Clark Rachfal, director of advocacy and governmental affairs for the
American Council of the Blind, which also supports this legislation. Many
goods and services moved online, and access to the internet became integral
to societal participation. Rachfal called the bill a good "starting point"
for the future.
"It's critical that rights of people with disabilities are protected as
technology plays an increasing role in all of our lives," he said.
Duckworth said the pandemic spurred her to act, because she realized how
much the online access issues were negatively affecting people with
cognitive or visual disabilities.
"It was ten times worse for members of the disability community to access
information and the help that they needed," she said. "Especially as covid
went on, they became more and more isolated."
She also said that she has seen firsthand the difference this access can
make. When she was recovering in Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center from injuries she sustained serving in the armed forces, she said one
of the other soldiers, who had lost his eyesight, struggled with using an
iPhone touch screen. But now that iPhones have features that allow blind
people to use them more easily, the soldier uses his iPhone daily, Duckworth
said.
She hopes her bill can make it easier for other blind people to use the
internet.
A
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s.mimecast.com%2Fs%2FKsF5CAD9yRINVMW1IMXvhm%3Fdomain%3Dcongress.gov&data=05%
7C01%7Cjkaloc%40nfb.org%7C8993da676db34930c3d408daa2ebaf7c%7C538f3d4b739545c
f93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C638001430442993727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWI
joiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7
C&sdata=%2Fl37a%2Fbyedc7cOkwwbc0UFzWXbuyh5CG%2FoeQyHWvBlc%3D&reserved=0>
bill with similar goals was introduced in the House last year by Rep. Ted
Budd (R-N.C.), but failed to gain momentum.
<https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotect-u
s.mimecast.com%2Fs%2F_qp-Czpx0rsMnv2mUoodDJ%3Fdomain%3Dwashingtonpost.com&da
ta=05%7C01%7Cjkaloc%40nfb.org%7C8993da676db34930c3d408daa2ebaf7c%7C538f3d4b7
39545cf93fa8dfc2b4a7f62%7C1%7C0%7C638001430442993727%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d
8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7
C%7C%7C&sdata=7U3G09aJwQJ%2FoyRVCEqLL55OBcUXs4BrO9Xqd9OuO28%3D&reserved=0>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/29/congress-stopgap-funding-
biden-pacific/#link-YBTBJXCGLZGRRLUR55AR4XC4WE
Jeff Kaloc
Governmental Affairs Specialist
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314, extension 2206 | jkaloc at nfb.org <mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org>
<https://nfb.org/>
<http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>
<https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice> <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>
The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work
together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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