 |
September 1998
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
September 1998
|
| |
|
|
|
|
On Tuesday, June 16th, Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and Represenative Constance Morella (R-MD) introduced companion bills in the House and Senate (S 2173 and HR 4063) on assistive technology - The Assistive Technology and Universally Designed Technology Improvement Act for Individuals with Disabilties.
Below are Senator Bond's comments from the Congressional Record upon introduction of the bill. The two bills are attached to this e-mail. If you have any difficulty view these items the bills can be found by searching under the respective bill number on Thomas, at http://thomas.gov.
Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill which will improve assistive and universally designed technology research and development and increase access to this technology for all Americans with disabilities.
Assistive and universally designed technology provides a disabled individual the means to function better in the workplace or the home. Assistive and universally designed technology is technology that aids the millions of Americans with physical or mental disabilities. For example, assistive technology can mean a computer that can be used by an individual with Cerebral Palsy, a hearing aid for an aging individual or enhanced voice recognition for someone with Multiple Sclerosis, while universally designed technology can mean closed captioning for the deaf or for patrons in crowded restaurants and accessability ramps for individuals in wheelchairs or mothers with strollers.
A year ago my office was approached by a small business owner and Missouri's United Cerebral Palsy asking for support for testing of a breakthrough in Voice Recognition technology. During my search to find an appropriate place for funding for this voice recognition technology, my staff and I became familiar with the overall government efforts in this area.
There are many significant problems in the federal government's efforts in assistive technology research and development. My finding's were validated by a recent report from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, `Enabling America: Assessing the Role of Rehabilitation Science and Engineering,' which stressed that the federal government's efforts in this area are lacking awareness, funding, and coordination.
My distinguished colleague in the House, Congresswoman Connie Morella, Chairwoman of the House Science's Subcommittee on Technology, joins me today in introducing the Assistive and Universally Designed Technology Improvement Act for Individuals with Disabilities.
The Act provides federally supported incentives in all areas of assistive and universally designed technology, including need identification, research and development, product evaluation, technology transfer, and commercialization. These incentives achieve the goal of improving the quality, functional capability, distribution, and affordability of this essential technology.
This legislation does several things.
First, the bill includes an improved peer review process at the National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation (NIDRR) at the Department of Education. This provision requires standing peer review panels and clarifies the evaluation of applications for funding of assistive and universally designed technology. These improvements provide more assistive and universally designed technology products to the marketplace, increase small business involvement in research and development, and assure research and development efforts cover all disability groups including persons with physical and mental disabilities as well as the aging and rural technology users.
Second, the legislation augments technology transfer through improving the role of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) by increasing its authority, accountability and ability to coordinate. Provisions are included for increased usage of the Federal labs to improve coordination with all Federal agencies involved in assistive and universally designed technology research and development and for providing public and private sector partnerships for assistive and universally designed technology research and development.
Third, to increase the market for assistive technology, the bill clarifies Title III of the Tech Act for the Microloan program. This microloan program assists disabled persons in obtaining assistive and universally designed technology.
Fourth, funds are authorized for the Interagency Committee on Disability Research to hire staff and for operating costs associated with issuing surveys and reports. Additionally, $10 million in funds are authorized for the National Institute on Disability Research and Rehabilitation to provide for assistive and universally designed technology research and development.
Finally, to increase access to assistive and universally designed technology, tax incentives are included to provide businesses a tax credit for the development of assistive technology, to expand the architectural and transportation barrier removal deduction to include communication barriers, and to expand the work opportunity credit to include expenses incurred in the acquisition of technology to facilitate the employment of any individual with a disability.
These tax incentives and micro loans will assist individuals with disabilities to obtain assistive and universally designed technology in order to improve their quality of life, to secure and maintain employment, and to assist small businesses in complying with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, which in effect, results in lessened financial burdens on society.
As technology increasingly plays a role in the lives of all persons in the United States, in the conduct of business, in the functioning of government, in the fostering of communication, in the transforming of employment, and in the provision of education, it also greatly impacts the lives of the more than 50 million individuals with disabilities in the United States.
An agenda, including support for universal design, represents the only effective means for guaranteeing the benefits of technology to all persons in the United States, regardless of disability or age, in addition to assuring for United States industry the continued growth in markets that will warrant continued high levels of innovation and research.
This legislation has the support of many organizations, including: The Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council, the United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America, the National Easter Seal Society, and the Association of Tech Act Projects.
The bill also has broad bipartisan and bicameral support. My colleagues, Senator Jeffords, Senator Harkin, Senator Grassley, and Congresswoman Connie Morella have been very helpful in my efforts to improve the role of the federal government in assistive and universally designed technology.
Let me conclude by taking special note of the help of the National and Missouri United Cerebral Palsy, as well as the Missouri Assistive Technology Project, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the numerous assistive and universally designed technology and disability community advocate organizations, for their assistance in developing and advocating this legislation.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill, the amendment I submit today, and letters of support be printed in the Record.
 Home |
 Newsletter |
 Calendar |
 Previous |
 Index |
 Next |
 Contact |