Now Caption Action 2 is Upset. Boucher Again!

Today Caption Action 2 found out something that made us upset. For good reason. Remember Rick Boucher, the chairperson of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet?? He just signed on to a DIFFERENT bill that also benefits deaf and hard of hearing people: HR 3024, the Medicare Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act. He ALREADY cosponsors HR 1646, the Hearing Aid Tax Credit.



YET, Boucher won't allow HR 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009, to move! We need for him to allow it to move!!

WHY does Boucher so readily support those other two bills for deaf and hard of hearing people and not HR 3101?? HR 3101 is just as important, if not MORE important, than those two bills!

We don't have the answers! What we DO know, is that it is urgent, important, mega critical, imperative, that YOU call your representatives in Congress, INCLUDING and ESPECIALLY those on the Subcommittee. That you write. That you blog and publicly post your letters to your Representatives. That you contact your local media. Caption Action 2 can not do it alone!

How does this make you feel? The chairperson of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet is supportive of those other bills, but not our bill, the one that YOU need to guarantee yourself and deaf children an accessible future on the Internet!

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Two Rejections and One Sign of Hope

Caption Action 2 was recently notified that two representatives would not support HR 3101. The ONLY way to get them to change their minds is IF enough people contact them.

And a special treat, a vlog from Kate Breen at the end of this post.

Rejection from Member of House Subcommittee

First, on December 7, 2009, Jamie received a rejection email from two staff members in Representative Mary Bono Mack's office. This one really hurt, because Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) is on the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet! That is the Subcommittee that has HR 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009. The email came from Paul Cancienne (Paul.Cancienne@mail.house.gov) and Chris Foster (Chris.Foster@mail.house.gov). This email stated:

At this time, the Congresswoman will not be cosponsoring H.R. 3101.

But that doesn't have to be the final answer! If we, the deaf and hard of hearing community, can show Representative Bono Mack how much this bill means to us by bombarding those two men with emails, maybe we can get her to change her mind! Anyone can send an email to those two men because the Subcommittee represents the entire United States. However, it would be even better if people who live in Mary Bono Mack's district, the 45th district of California, would contact those two men! Check http://bono.house.gov/District/interactivemap.htm to see if you live in Mary Bono Mack's district, or if you know someone else who does!

Update: What the message above meant was that Bono Mack is not opposed to HR 3101, but neither will she support it. See the newer blog post HR 3101 Can't Move Without Boucher! Here's Proof! for an explanation.

A Form Letter = Rejection

After having talked with Jim Richardson (Jim.Richardson@mail.house.gov) in Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS)'s office, Caption Action 2 had high hopes because Richardson specializes in disability issues. Then yesterday, Caption Action 2 got a form letter from Tiahrt's office that said "While I do not sit on this committee, if this bill reaches the floor of the House, I will be sure to keep your concerns in mind." That translated into a rejection, because it essentially means "I am not going to cosponsor the bill, but if it somehow moves, I will remember what you said."

Deaf and hard of hearing people and families in Kansas' 4th District (check http://www.tiahrt.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9 to see if you live in Kansas' 4th District or if you know someone who does) should send email to Jim Richardson telling them how important HR 3101 is to them and asking that Tiahrt change his mind about not cosponsoring HR 3101.

Any Hope Here? Maybe!

Today Caption Action 2 had a positive telephone conversation with Jordan Downs, a disability and ADA issues specialist in Representative Gregg Harper's (R-MS) office! Downs is eager to hear from deaf and hard of hearing people in Harper's district - the third district of Mississippi. Check http://harper.house.gov/district to see if you live in his district or if you know someone else who does! Downs can be contacted at Jordan.Downs@mail.house.gov.

Disability specialists like Downs could be key to the HR 3101 campaign. Who else would better understand our needs and be best able to convince the Representatives to cosponsor HR 3101?

Kate Breen Vlogs About HR 3101!

Today Kate Breen (breen315) uploaded a signed video to YouTube about HR 3101:

Update: Joseph Ponte alerted us to his HR-3101 Help the cause! post in his I'm Sorry, Say That Again... blog.

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January - Get Ready to Push for HR 3101!

A new year is here, and with it, our last and best chance to push for the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (HR 3101)'s passage. Representatives will not be back at work until January 12, but the staff is already back in their offices. Now is the time to contact the Congress staff to ask that their bosses, the Representatives, cosponsor HR 3101.

Operation Get a Republican

One of our greatest needs at the moment, is to get Republican support for HR 3101. Last year, none of the Representatives who cosponsored the previous version of the bill were Republican, and that may have contributed to the bill's failure. Caption Action 2 has been in contact with many Republicans' offices, and we are hopeful that soon, we may have our first Republican cosponsor.

Several staff in Republicans' offices have told Caption Action 2 that they will review the bill and bring it up to the Representatives for consideration. These Republican Representatives' offices have said they will review the bill:

Representative Boehner, John (Ohio) - Note: Boehner leads Republicans in Congress. If we could get Boehner's support, that will really pave the way! Check http://johnboehner.house.gov/District/ to see if you live in his Ohio District.
Representative Broun, Paul (Georgia)
Representative Cole, Tom (Oklahoma) - Note: Cole is the only Native American in Congress.
Representative Davis, Geoff (Kentucky)
Representative Jenkins, Lynn (Kansas)
Representative Posey, Bill (Florida)
Representative Rogers, Mike (Michigan)
Representative Shaddegg, John (Arizona)
Representative Smith, Lamar (Texas)
Representative Tiahrt, Todd (Kansas)
Representative Westmoreland, Lynn (Georgia)
Representative Wilson, Joe (South Carolina)
Representative Wittman, Robert (Virginia)

If any of these are your Representatives, please contact them! Check the updated Congress Staff spreadsheet on the blogroll to the right; we have added DC phone numbers. If other people besides Caption Action 2 contact them, it will improve the chances of their becoming cosponsors!

Just getting the offices to say in writing that they will review the bill is an accomplishment. At least 10,000 bills are introduced in each Congress! THAT's the kind of competition for attention that we face.

Time is Short!

Caption Action 2 has been told by at least one staffer that it could be at least a few weeks before we hear anything from them. That means we may not see new cosponsors until February! We have less than a year, maybe eight months, to get this bill passed in both the House and the Senate. The eight month estimate was arrived at by subtracting holidays, weekends, and Congressional break periods. Add to that the fact that this is an election year for Congress, and we could be dealing with some very distracted Representatives.

Caption Action 2 January Newsletter

Some of the information here has been taken from the January Caption Action 2 newsletter. Read the full newsletter here: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/posts/363952

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