Markey, Shapiro Clash on Disabilities Bill

A hearing on Internet accessibility legislation exploded into a political brawl after Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., lashed out at CEA President Gary Shapiro. Testifying Thursday to the House Communications Subcommittee, Shapiro had said Markey’s bill (HR-3101) could kill start-up CE manufacturers by requiring them to make all products accessible to people with any disability. Republicans defended the CEA executive and scolded Markey. Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., tried to steer the discussion back toward areas of agreement.

Before the skirmish, Democrats and Republicans had been upbeat about passing Markey’s bill quickly. House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said he hoped to have the legislation on the House floor July 26, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A subcommittee markup date isn’t set, but it’s “just around the corner,” Boucher said, citing bipartisan consensus. Industry executives and members from both parties suggested minor tweaks but largely seemed confident that the bill would pass.

Republicans accused Markey of a set-up after he asked retired Sgt. Maj. Jesse Acosta if he agreed with Shapiro that accessibility should be completely voluntary. Acosta lost his vision in a bomb attack on a battlefield. Industry isn’t designing accessibility into enough products, and people with disabilities can’t rely on them to start doing it voluntarily, said Acosta. Shapiro replied, “You cannot require every new product to be responsive to every disability.” Markey shot back, “My bill does not do that,” and he called it “very deceptive” for Shapiro to say otherwise. “I wish you would just stop repeating that. It is untrue.”

Markey highlighted language in the bill limiting rules to larger companies that can afford to build in accessibility. But Shapiro said the law is overly burdensome, because it would force companies seeking exemption to prove that they shouldn’t be covered.

Markey has created an “emotional frenzy,” protested Subcommittee Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla. “It’s terrible, totally unfair for you to set up a war hero with the CEO of an association and try to play that emotional game that you do continually,” he said. Markey did the same with the V-chip, a technology that ended up failing, Stearns said. Shapiro wasn’t suggesting that there should be no law requiring accessibility, Stearns said. “It’s a noble goal that we're doing here,” Stearns said, and he wants to solve the problem, but raising emotions “isn’t the way to do it.” He refused to yield time to Markey when the Democrat asked to respond, and Markey glowered afterward.

"I just feel slimed right now, politically slimed by the set-up” arranged by Markey, Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., said later in the hearing. “That just seems to be the tone right now with the leadership that’s in charge of this place. It’s intimidation.” He decried “pitting two witnesses against each other to create a fight between them,” calling the maneuver “demeaning” to the subcommittee.

"Notwithstanding the intensity of the dialog, I would underscore once again that we are in a collaborative process,” Boucher said after Stearns spoke. “We're working our way to consensus, and we're actually making a great deal of progress.”

Legislators from both parties urged edits to the bill. Stearns and other Republicans said the bill must balance making the Internet more accessible with promoting industry innovation. Failing to find balance could result in unintended consequences, said Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. Rep. Parker Griffith, R-Ala., one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said he didn’t like language requiring specific technologies but said he’s optimistic legislators could work through the problem and pass the bill. The final bill mustn’t be limited to current technology, said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash. Technology becomes obsolete in a matter of weeks, he said.

Boucher stressed consensus among the interest groups and between the political parties but struggled to find it as he questioned witnesses. Executives from CEA, USTelecom, CTIA and NCTA agreed that inexpensive third-party apps may be a sufficient substitute for accessibility software built into devices. But advocates for people with disabilities wouldn’t commit to the idea. “I'm not sure,” said Lise Hamlin, director of public policy for the Hearing Loss Association of America. “I would want to be absolutely certain” that the features are available and functional. Acosta said people with disabilities shouldn’t have to pay extra for accessibility devices.

Hamlin would support requiring companies to make accessible only a percentage of devices available, similar to the FCC’s hearing-aid compatibility rules, she said. But there would need to be strong enforcement of the percentage and a clear marketing campaign to educate users, she said.

USTelecom backs the Markey bill, said Walter McCormick, the association’s president. USTelecom’s work with the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology is reflected in HR-3101, he said. The telephone association prefers the House bill to the Senate version (S-3304) by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., because Markey’s “more appropriately reflects the need for technological parity and a level parity for all advanced communications service providers and manufacturers,” McCormick said. Kerry told McCormick at a hearing last month that he would try to relieve USTelecom’s concerns.

Other industry executives backed the goals of Internet accessibility legislation but resisted strict rules for industry action. Legislators should be patient as cable operators develop video-described programming and ways to make audible versions of menus and program guides for the blind and visually impaired, said James Assey, NCTA executive vice president. Closed-captioning requirements for Internet video shouldn’t take effect until standards in development are completed, and rules should give leeway for technical glitches moving video online, Assey said.

Legislation shouldn’t make carriers or manufacturers responsible for accessibility of third-party applications, said Bobby Frankin, CTIA executive vice president. Evolution to open platforms means carriers and device makers don’t always have control of everything on the network or device, he said. And the subcommittee should scale back reporting requirements because they would be costly and raise confidentiality concerns. The bill should instead require companies to maintain records on recent accessibility efforts, and produce them upon the FCC’s request, he said.

Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., plans to add her name as a co-sponsor to the accessibility bill, she said in opening remarks.