Internet accessibility legislation cleared the House Commerce Committee by a unanimous voice vote Wednesday. The committee reported the bill (HR-3101) to the full House with amendments addressing industry concerns, expanding video description requirements, and establishing an annual $10 million fund to subsidize equipment for the deaf-blind. Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., reaffirmed he wants to see the bills on the House and Senate floors next week in time for the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Senate Commerce Committee passed its own version of the bill (S-3304) last week (WID July 16 p1).

FCC budget legislation may be marked up Wednesday in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services, said a spokesman for Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, a subcommittee member. He plans to rail against the FCC for its plan to reclassify broadband transport under Title II of the Communications Act but may not offer his much-discussed amendment to ban the FCC from using appropriations for that purpose, the spokesman said. “He’s considering it, and he'll certainly raise the issue of the FCC regulating the Internet. But it’s not a sure thing that he'll be offering the amendment.” Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., didn’t comment on the markup’s timing. In a blog post over the weekend, Public Knowledge spokesman Art Brodsky said Culberson doesn’t have a firm grasp of telecom law. The Republican has “created his own reality in which he, the crusading Congressman, is saving the Internet from meddlesome, evasive, empire-building bureaucrats while fighting for justice and truth,” said Brodsky. But FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski doesn’t want to regulate the Internet, he said. “The FCC lacks the clear statutory authority to regulate the Internet,” responded Culberson in an e-mail. “It’s just not in the law, and the courts agree. I can’t support spending tax dollars on the FCC’s legal misadventures."

Congress has been laggardly in not bringing back tax certificates that once were used by companies selling media assets to minorities, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said Monday. “I do not understand why the 111th Congress has not passed legislation to reinstate” a revamped and improved certificate, he told a Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) conference. “This seems like a no-brainer.” McDowell and colleagues Meredith Baker and Mignon Baker agreed on the panel that access to capital is the biggest hurdle faced by minorities desiring to enter the media business.

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved amended Internet accessibility legislation by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass., in a voice vote Thursday morning. The bill (S-3304) aims to increase the number of hearing aid-compatible phones, improve access to 911 emergency services, and expand and update closed captioning and video description requirements. Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, despite lingering concerns by CE companies (CED July 15 p6).

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved amended Internet accessibility legislation by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass., in a voice vote Thursday morning. The bill (S-3304) aims to increase the number of hearing aid-compatible phones, improve access to 911 emergency services, and expand and update closed captioning and video description requirements. Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, despite lingering concerns by consumer electronics companies (CD July 15 p12) .

A revamped rural health care telecom subsidy program should help more health facilities use broadband to connect to the outside world, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said. The commission initiated a rulemaking Thursday to change the rules of the USF program based on lessons learned from the Rural Health Care Pilot Program. The original program failed to live up to its potential, Commissioner Michael Copps said. In most years it disbursed less than 20 percent of the $400 million that could be spent.

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved amended Internet accessibility legislation by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass., in a voice vote Thursday morning. The bill (S-3304) aims to increase the number of hearing aid-compatible phones, improve access to 911 emergency services, and expand and update closed captioning and video description requirements. Democrats and Republicans supported the bill, despite lingering concerns by consumer electronics companies (CED July 15 p6).

Sen. Scott Brown’s, R-Mass., indication of opposition for the DISCLOSE Act on campaign finance eliminates one of the few Republican senators who might have supported the bill and raises the bar for the bill’s passage before November, Concept Capital analyst Paul Gallant wrote investors. That’s good news for broadcasters, he said. Even if the Senate does break a Republican filibuster and pass the bill, introduced as a reaction to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, the Senate will likely move on the House version of the bill. It lacks changes to the lowest-unit-charge rules that could have hurt broadcasters’ political ad sales revenue, Gallant said. “While we continue to believe the odds are against passage for DISCLOSE, we do not rule it out because congressional Democrats are highly motivated to move DISCLOSE."

CEA still has concerns about Internet accessibility legislation that Democrats are pushing to finish by July 26, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it said. The Senate Commerce Committee plans Thursday to mark up a revised version of S-3304 by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass. An amendment by Pryor that circulated among lobbyists Wednesday didn’t relieve CEA’s concerns that the bill is too broad and imposes too many technical requirements, said Jason Oxman, a senior vice president of the association. CEA has similar concerns about the House version, by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. The association supports ensuring that its products are accessible but opposes mandates that dictate functionality, because it believes Congress should “leave innovation to the innovators,” Oxman said. CEA has been working with House and Senate members to improve the legislation and plans to continue “up to the point where it gets to the floor,” if necessary, he said. Other industry groups involved in the legislative discussions, including USTelecom, NCTA and CTIA, didn’t comment. USTelecom raised concerns about some technical aspects of the bill at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May, but changes since seem to have resolved the association’s concerns, a telecom industry official said. The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, which has supported the legislation, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

CEA still has concerns about Internet accessibility legislation that Democrats are pushing to finish by July 26, the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it said. The Senate Commerce Committee plans Thursday to mark up a revised version of S-3304 by Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and John Kerry, D-Mass. An amendment by Pryor that circulated among lobbyists Wednesday didn’t relieve CEA’s concerns that the bill is too broad and imposes too many technical requirements, said Jason Oxman, a senior vice president of the association. CEA has similar concerns about the House version, by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. The association supports ensuring that its products are accessible but opposes mandates that dictate functionality, because it believes Congress should “leave innovation to the innovators,” Oxman said. CEA has been working with House and Senate members to improve the legislation and plans to continue “up to the point where it gets to the floor,” if necessary, he said. Other industry groups involved in the legislative discussions, including USTelecom, NCTA and CTIA, didn’t comment. USTelecom raised concerns about some technical aspects of the bill at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May, but changes since seem to have resolved the association’s concerns, a telecom industry official said. The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, which has supported the legislation, didn’t respond to a request for comment.