Lawmakers begin push to extend Internet services to disabled

Lawmakers want to put legislation helping the deaf communicate with speakers at the other end of an iPhone and providing closed captioning for videos on websites like Hulu on the fast track.

At a hearing May 26 on a bill meant to extend Internet services to the disabled, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said he aimed to win congressional approval by the end of the year. Kerry's bill would bring the two-decade-old Americans with Disabilities Act in line with new technologies by, for instance, ensuring that closed captioning is available for online video. It would also impose a number of new requirements for the Federal Communications Commission to impose on various technologies. Quick passage could be a challenge given industry concerns about parts of the bill. Walter McCormick, the president of US Telecom, pointed to definitions in the House and Senate bills that he saw as problematic. Others have raised questions about the cost of implementing the bill.