>Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 19:08:51 -0500 (EST)
>From: Jamal Mazrui <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: House chair concerned about IT accessibility rules
>Sender: [log in to unmask]
>To: Disability Policy <[log in to unmask]>
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>>From the web page
>http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0301/032201td.htm
>
>GOVEXEC.COM TODAY
>March 22, 2001
>Headline:  House chair concerned about IT accessibility rules
>House chair may overhaul IT accessibility rule
>By William New, National Journal's Technology Daily
>
>A House lawmaker who oversees government procurement of
>technology products on Wednesday praised new rules designed to
>make the government's information technology more accessible to
>the disabled but found fault with several specific items in those
>rules.
>
>"I do have concerns about particular sections of the regulations
>that appear to be overly prescriptive in defining the type of
>standard and technology to be utilized," Virginia Republican Tom
>Davis, chairman of
>the House Government Reform Technology and Procurement Policy
>Subcommittee, said at an Adobe Systems event on IT accessibility.
>Davis said the rules should give industry more flexibility to
>implement
>market-driven solutions.
>
>At issue is Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which
>requires that all federal agencies make their electronic and
>information technology accessible to the disabled. The rules to
>implement Section 508, which were drafted by the U.S. Access
>Board, took effect Dec. 20 and must be implemented by June 20.
>The Bush administration has signaled support for the rules.
>
>While Davis praised the rules as significant progress, he
>expressed concern that industry faces two sets of standards in
>some cases. He further said the specific criteria in certain
>instances are "contrary to what Congress and government have been
>asking procurement officials to do in recent years"--to focus on
>outcome, not just process.
>
>David Capozzi of the Access Board defended the rules as striking
>a balance between specificity and flexibility. But he
>acknowledged that "there is always room for improvement."
>
>Bartlett Cleland, vice president and counsel for the software
>division of the Information Technology Association of America
>(ITAA), said ITAA has backed Section 508 despite some industry
>complaints. The association is working to educate companies on
>what they need to know by the June deadline. To get industry on
>board, he said, "it's helpful to have a whip in one hand and a
>carrot in the other."
>
>Cleland noted that although Section 508 does not  impose any
>direct requirements on the private sector, it does set
>technological standards for the high-tech industry's biggest
>customer, the federal government,
>and that effectively changes the entire industry. "Industry's not
>going to make two products," he said.
>
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