LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UPDATE by Paul W. Schroeder, Director of Governmental Affairs A new communications revolution is already well under way, and it has the potential to dramatically improve the independence, self-sufficiency and productivity of people who are blind or visually impaired. The inability to read and use standard print has been a constant barrier for blind people over the years. That barrier is coming down as printed pages are replaced by digital electronic files. Advances in computers and communications networks have the potential to dramatically expand access to virtually limitless collections of information. The rapid flow of digital or electronic information is made possible by a fragmented collection of computer networks known as the Internet. There are perhaps as many as 10,000 computer networks in dozens of countries with as many as 15 million users. The number of users is expected to double by year's end. Many of you are probably familiar with the Internet because of your use of networks such as CompuServe or Genie. The wealth of information such as newspapers, periodicals and other material available on the Internet, along with the ability to send and receive electronic communications, is already staggering. But dramatic changes may be in store because of efforts by the Clinton administration and the private sector to improve the communications infrastructure. Vice President Al Gore expressed the administration's ultimate goal this way in an interview published in a recent edition of Congressional Quarterly's "Weekly Report": "In the next decade it will be possible for an elementary school student to come home after class and instead of playing Nintendo, plug into the Library of Congress and explore an entire universe of information. ... It will be possible for creators of software and other forms of electronic intellectual property to download their products into a national grid and make contact between buyers and sellers instantaneously." President Clinton has given Gore responsibility for administration policy on the national communications network--or, the "information super highway." The administration's first step into the computer and communications network policy arena was modest: a two billion, five-year federal program to link more schools, libraries, hospitals and businesses into a markedly improved and more information-rich nationwide computer network. However, neither Congress nor the administration has conclusively determined how to bring the improved communications network across the "last mile" into people's homes. Equally unclear is the question of how the information and services available over these computer networks will be made accessible to people of all ages, abilities and incomes. The copper telephone wire which brings basic telephone service into most homes lacks the capacity for the high-speed, large-volume communications that are now envisioned for the next century. Fiber optic cable, which now links most local telephone exchanges, has tremendous capacity for rapid transmission of massive amounts of information. However, because of the cost of replacing the existing copper wire, the communications industry is turning to coaxial cable, the wire used for cable TV, to bring the communications revolution into American households. Others argue that many of the benefits of computer networks can be provided on a wide scale at low cost over the myriad of current communications vehicles such as copper wire, radio frequencies, cable TV and satellite transmissions. In the interview with Congressional Quarterly, Gore did say, "Now is the time for more emphasis on the configuration of data bases, the last-mile problem, the sociopolitical and economic problems of ensuring access and devoting more attention to user software issues, ways to broaden the universe of information and make it more available to the network." Congress is moving very quickly to enact the initial Clinton plan. By the time you read this, a committee in the House of Representatives may have already acted on a version of the Clinton proposal. And, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee may also have cleared passage of a similar proposal sponsored by committee chair Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C. The House legislation, H.R. 1757, is sponsored by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Science. Boucher's bill, known as the "High Performance Computing and High Speed Networking Applications Act of 1993," amends legislation, "The High-Performance Computing Act of 1991," which was sponsored by then-Senator Gore. At a press conference to introduce the legislation, Boucher said, "Just about everyone agrees that the building of an interactive communications network capable of delivering voice, video and data seamlessly to every home and business in America is necessary." Addressing the question of who should be responsible for developing the network, Boucher said, "We do not intend for the federal government to build the information superhighway. The physical network, including fiber optic lines and high capacity switches, will be deployed, owned and maintained by the private sector." However, the legislation would require that the federal government establish common standards and protocols for electronic information storage and retrieval. Looking toward the future, Boucher noted that "This common formatting will be particularly important when libraries throughout the United States store in electronic form the millions of volumes of printed material currently on their shelves." The legislation provides incentives for the creation of these digital libraries of electronic information including the vast quantity of government information. "Our goal is for every individual in his or her home or office to be able to obtain access to any library in the nation, to utilize an electronic index, retrieve a particular document and print that out on his or her laser printer all within a matter of minutes," Boucher said. THE DISABILITY PERSPECTIVE Responding to the introduction of H.R. 1757, Rep. Major R. Owens, D-N.Y., a longtime advocate for people with disabilities and a leading sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, told Boucher's subcommittee, "Our future electronic village must contain no barriers; the frontier of the tele-community must be open to every American." Drawing an analogy to access for people with disabilities under the ADA, Rep. Owens urged the Subcommittee to include "electronic curb cuts" by amending the legislation to "require that all expressive and receptive electronic communications (are) readily usable and affordable by persons with disabilities, thereby ensuring that the system will be user friendly for every American. ... We must consider multiplicity or redundancy of channel to ensure that individuals who are blind, for instance, can also hear the data or images that are 'pulled down' from a data base." OTHER FRONTIERS OF ACTION The Regional Bell Operating Companies want to be able to provide cable TV programming, manufacture telephone equipment and offer information services. The Bell companies were prevented from undertaking these activities by the 1984 U.S. District Court ruling, which created the so-called "Baby Bells" from the breakup of telecommunications giant AT&T. An important precedent was set when the Bell companies agreed to adopt most of the recommendations of a coalition of disability groups, including the American Council of the Blind, in legislation which would permit the Bells to manufacture telecommunications equipment. The disability position is that the new equipment and services should be fully accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, and if that is not possible, then the new equipment and services should be configured to work with computers and other communication devices developed for people with disabilities. This would mean that graphics-based or video-image systems should be configured so that blind individuals can make full use of the information being distributed through the system. Technological developments and industry efforts are moving at a lightning pace. We must immediately work to convince Congress, the Clinton administration and the private sector that distribution of information and other communications is enhanced for all people when access is ensured for people with disabilities. If we are successful, we may see a new communications revolution which provides maximum benefits to blind and other disabled persons right alongside everyone else. CAPTIONS Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., sponsor of H.R. 1757. Rep. Major R. Owens, D-N.Y., envisions a barrier-free telecommunications future for blind and other disabled Americans. Vice President Al Gore is responsible for Clinton administration policy on telecommunications.