Disability Law Update

On Wednesday, November 2, 2005, U.S. Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) held a press conference in which they announced the introduction of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act of 2005 (S 1951) that would create an insurance program for adults who become functionally disabled. The legislation would provide a cash benefit to help obtain services and supports in the community while providing individuals with disabilities more choices in their lives. To read more about this legislation please visit THOMAS (Library of Congress) and in the search field enter "S 1951" and select option to search by bill number.

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), joined by other disability organizations called on Congress to enact legislation mandating disability access to Internet-based products and services by the end of this Congress. Following up on testimony presented at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Kelby Brick, NAD Director of Law and Advocacy, said, "People with disabilities use communications technologies everyday that were not even in existence at the time our nation's communications laws were last amended. The 1996 Telecommunications Act doesn't cover features now readily available such as instant messaging, email, video relay, peer-to-peer video or such handheld devices as the Firefly and the Tictalk." Brick further said, "Although the 1996 Act contained disability provisions for access to telecommunications products and services, it was mainly limited to those used with the public switched telephone network, not the Internet."