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Earlier this year, Congressman (Rep-D) Edward Markey introduced and sponsored H.R. 3101 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce on June 26th. Amid a flurry of sponsors, 15 and counting at time of writing, the bill has garnered support and publicity among the Deaf community. H.R. 3101′s short title is “Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009″ and its principal aim is to ensure accessbility of media on the Internet, i.e., captioning on streaming video. Another goal is to ensure accessibility of ip-based communications. The full information can be found at Thomas (LOC.gov).

I generally support this bill, and will continue to monitor it’s progress throughout its legislative life. While there is captioned content online, much more remains inaccessible. Of particular note are emergency broadcasts; we need to ensure that these broadcasts are captioned, either via traditional TV media or internet-based streaming media. I do find proposed section 103 in redefining telecommunications relay services to be troubling, and has diminished my support somewhat for this bill.

As of this writing, there has been not a lot of information about H.R. 3101 coming out from the Committe on Energy and Commerce. There have been no hearings scheduled, let alone any markup’s, or any committee recommendations. However, a blogsite has been covering the bill extensively – Caption Action 2. Plus, using the hashtag #HR3101 on Twitter, you’ll find commentary and support of the bill among many interested participants. H.R. 3101 continues to attract more co-sponsors, and recently had a high-profile boost in way of Marlee Matlin at a recent (Nov. 6th) FCC hearing about broadband access for people with disabilities.

In addition to contacting your Congressperson about H.R. 3101, you can also write to the Committe on Energy and Commerce in support of this bill. I’m not sure if non-citizens can write to the Committee in support of this bill. (i.e. Deaf Canadians and other Deaf foreigners that understand English stand to benefit from the bill. It would be nice to enlist their support!) If the Committee has a hearing on this bill, you may even comment on the bill. (There is also a specific subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, but I’m not sure if they’re actually handling H.R. 3101. At any rate, the full Committee needs to recommend the Bill to the House.)

The FCC also may comment on H.R. 3101 through this Committee. Remember the Nov. 6th hearing that FCC had on Gallaudet University? Perhaps the FCC will gather and distill the information gleaned from that hearing in reporting to the Committee about H.R. 3101. The proposed bill as written may undergo an amendment or two before it is officially reported by the Committee to the House. (Admittedly, this is why, despite my initial skepticism about proposed Section 103 of H.R. 3101, I continue to support the Bill.)

Don’t leave us in the Dark Ages, i.e., the 20th Century. Join us and support us in entering the 21st Century with full accessiblity to the Internet and related technologies.