[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 114 (Wednesday, September 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9877-S9879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Bond, Mr. Kerry, 
        Mr. McConnell, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Reed, and Mr. 
        Frist):
  S. 2432. A bill to support programs of grants to States to address 
the assistive technology needs of individuals with disabilities, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


                    ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 1998

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, ten years ago Congress passed the 
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act, 
referred to as the ``Tech Act''. My friend, Senator Harkin, was the 
principal sponsor in the Senate. I was the principal sponsor in the 
House. Both Houses of Congress worked together and passed the same 
legislation on the same day. Once again, Senator Harkin  and I, with 
our colleague Senator Bond, joined forces to draft the Assistive 
Technology Act of 1998 (ATA), which we are introducing today with the 
co-sponsorship of Senators Kennedy, Frist, Collins, McConnell, Reed, 
and Kerry. Once again, we are working toward expeditious consideration 
of legislation that promotes access to assistive technology for 
individuals with disabilities. With the assistance of our colleagues in 
the Senate and the other body, I am confident that the ATA will become 
law. The ATA authorizes funding for assistive technology activities for 
fiscal years 1999 through 2004.
  The ATA builds on the success of its predecessor, the Tech Act. The 
Tech Act sunsets September 30, 1998. This will result in the 
termination of federal assistance to nine states for promoting access 
to assistive technology for individuals with disabilities, and place 
the remainder of the states in jeopardy of diminished or no funding 
during or after fiscal year 1999.
  Through the ATA the Senate has the opportunity to reaffirm the 
federal role of promoting access to assistive technology devices and 
services for individuals with disabilities. The bill allows States 
flexibility in responding to the assistive technology needs of their 
citizens with disabilities, and does not disrupt the ongoing work of 
the 50 State assistive technology programs funded under the Tech Act.
  These programs make a difference. Access to assistive technology for 
an individual with a disability means independence, ability to work or 
attend school, and the opportunity to participate in community life. 
Lack of access to assistive technology means dependence and isolation.
  In my State of Vermont, Lynne Cleveland is the project director for 
our Tech Project. Lynne testified before the Labor and Human Resources 
Committee on April 29, 1998 on the impact of the Vermont Tech Project 
on the lives of Vermonters with disabilities. For example, one of the 
many things the Vermont Tech Project supports is a rehabilitation 
engineering technician program, the only one in the nation, at Vermont 
Technical College. Graduates of the program work for schools, non-
profit agencies, state agencies, and vendors helping others make 
appropriate, cost-effective decisions regarding assistive technology 
for individuals with disabilities and educating others about the need 
for and value of the individual with a disability having a central role 
in such decisions.
  The Vermont Tech Project touches and changes the lives of individual 
Vermonters of all ages and walks of life. For Bill, a man in his mid-
thirties who suffered a stroke, the Tech Project helped secure 
assistive technology that enabled him to obtain employment designing 
web pages. Equally important to Bill is that assistive technology 
enables him to talk again with his children. For Ray, who lost his 
vision in mid-life, acquiring assistive technology has allowed him to 
continue as a snowplow dispatcher for the State of Vermont. For Ty, a 
teenager born with a visual impairment, access to assistive technology 
means she can pursue her goal of becoming a lawyer. For Annie, a first 
grader with Downs Syndrome, having assistive technology means that she 
can use the computer in a regular education classroom, learning and 
playing games with her classmates. For Lillian, a senior citizen, 
access to and training on a closed circuit television, enables her to 
stay in her home rather than living in a nursing home. The Vermont Tech 
Project has touched each of these individuals by working with others to 
change policies, improve coordination, pool resources, and educate 
people about the benefits of assistive technology.

[[Page S9878]]

  Across the U.S., state assistive technology programs have brought 
about a wide range of improvements in the last decade. State assistive 
technology programs have contributed to changes in state laws, improved 
coordination among state agencies and between the public and private 
sector, all of which have expanded access to assistive technology. 
These programs have increased public awareness of the value of 
assistive technology, have educated individuals with disabilities about 
how to select and purchase appropriate assistive technology, and 
expanded the number of individuals in schools, the workplace, and other 
settings of community life that can provide assistance in selecting, 
securing, and using assistive technology.
  The ATA allows this important work to continue. Title I of the bill 
supports states in sustaining and strengthening their capacity to 
address the assistive technology needs of individuals with 
disabilities; title II brings focus to the federal investment in 
technology that could benefit individuals with disabilities; and title 
III supports micro-loan programs to provide assistance to individuals 
who desire to purchase assistive technology devices or assistive 
technology services. The legislation also draws attention to and 
promotes consideration of the principles of universal design in the 
design of future technology and using the power of the INTERNET to 
bring best practices related to assistive technology to anyone's 
keyboard.
  In title I the ATA streamlines and clarifies the expectations, 
including expectations related to accountability, associated with 
continuing federal support for state assistive technology programs. It 
targets specific, proven activities, as priorities, referred to as 
``mandatory activities''. All state grantees must set measurable goals 
in connection to their use of ATA funds, and both the goals and the 
approach to measuring the goals must be based on input from a state's 
citizens with disabilities.
  If a state has received fewer than 10 years of federal funding under 
the Tech Act for its assistive technology program, title I of the ATA 
allows a state, which submits a supplement (a continuity grant) to its 
current Tech Act grant for federal funds, to use ATA funds for 
mandatory activities: a public awareness program, interagency 
coordination, technical assistance and training, and outreach. Such a 
state also may use ATA funds for optional grant activities: alternative 
state-financed systems for assistive technology devices and assistive 
technology services, technology demonstrations, distribution of 
information about how to finance assistive technology devices and 
assistive technology services, and operation of a technology-related 
information system, or participation in interstate activities or 
public-private partnerships pertaining to assistive technology.

  If a state has had 10 years of funding for its assistive technology 
program through the Tech Act, the state may submit an application for a 
noncompetitive challenge grant under the ATA. Grant funds must be spent 
on specific activities--interagency coordination, an assistive 
technology information system, a public awareness program, technical 
assistance and training, and outreach activities.
  In fiscal years 2000 through 2004, if funding for title I exceeds a 
certain level, states operating under challenge grants may apply for 
additional ATA funding, provided through competitive millennium grants. 
These grants are to focus on specific state or local level capacity 
building activities related to access to technology for individuals 
with disabilities.
  Title I of the ATA also authorizes funding for protection and 
advocacy systems in each state to assist individuals with disabilities 
to access assistive technology devices and assistive technology 
services, and funding for a technical assistance program, including the 
National Public Internet Site, and specifies administrative procedures 
with regard to monitoring of entities funded under title I of the ATA.
  Title II of the ATA authorizes national activities, including 
increased coordination and communication among federal agencies with 
regard to addressing the assistive technology needs of individuals with 
disabilities. Title III of the Act authorizes a broad range of 
alternative financing mechanisms to assist individuals with the 
purchasing of assistive technology through micro-loans.
  Providing access to assistive technology for individuals with 
disabilities was a simple promise in 1988. Today it is much, much more. 
The ATA represents the bridge to the next century for individuals with 
disabilities. Across that bridge lies increased independence, realized 
potential, new partnerships, unimagined challenges, and unlimited 
opportunities.
 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I support the Assistive Technology 
Act of 1998. This Act will enable States and the Federal Government to 
build on their work under the Technology-Related Assistance for 
Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988, or Tech Act, which sunsets 
this year, and to establish new directions in assistive technology 
policy for the 21st Century.
  In 1988, I was proud to be the chief Senate sponsor of the Tech Act, 
and was very fortunate to work with then-Representative Jeffords, who 
was the chief House sponsor. In developing this new Act, I have been 
fortunate to work with Senator Jeffords again, and also with Senator 
Bond, whose commitment and leadership have been invaluable.
  The issue of assistive technology is deeply important to me. My 
brother Frank is deaf. Assistive technology is part of our 
relationship. Frank and I talk all the time, using a TDD; we watch 
television together using a closed-caption decoder. My nephew Kelly was 
injured in the Navy and is a quadriplegic. But he lives independently, 
in large part because of assistive technology. For example, Kelly is 
able to drive his van by using a wheelchair lift and hand controls.
  But assistive technology doesn't just work for people with 
disabilities. We hear all the time that defense research often has 
everyday applications. The same is true of assistive technology 
research. I saw a television commercial recently, advertising voice-
activated software for business executives. Well, that technology was 
originally development for people whose disability kept them from using 
a keyboard. And if you've ever watched the closed-captioned news in a 
noisy restaurant or so you didn't wake up your husband or wife, you've 
used assistive technology. The more assistive technology we develop, 
the more all of us will benefit from it.
  Under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, States will be able to 
continue the consumer-responsive programs of technology-related 
assistance for people with disabilities they have developed over the 
past ten years.
  The Act will help States establish and strengthen systems to inform 
people with disabilities what their assistive technology options are, 
so they can take advantage of them. It will enable States to help 
schools and employers accommodate assistive technology users, so they 
can live independently, and get an education and a job. And the Act 
will create a one-stop Internet site where consumers, family members, 
assistive technology professionals, and anyone else who's interested 
can access all the information there is about assistive technology.
  The Act also recognizes that the Federal government must work more 
efficiently, and with the private sector, if we are going to make 
assistive technology more accessible. It requires federal agencies and 
offices that conduct assistive technology research to work more closely 
together, to take advantage of each other's abilities and information 
and to better utilize federal resources. It enables the Federal 
government to increase its research, and to make grants to outside 
researchers, for assistive technology and universal design. It offers 
help to small businesses to research, develop, and bring assistive 
technology to the market. And the Act enables the Federal government to 
work with the information technology industry, to increase the 
industry's voluntary participation in efforts to make information 
technology more accessible to people with disabilities.

  Finally, the Act will help States establish, or expand, loan programs 
for people with disabilities or their representatives to access to meet 
their assistive technology needs.
  I have often said that disability is a natural part of the human 
experience, that in no way diminishes the right of individuals to live 
independently,

[[Page S9879]]

enjoy self-determination, pursue meaningful careers and enjoy full 
inclusion in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational 
mainstream of American society. Assistive technology enables people 
with disabilities to exercise that right.
  There have been amazing changes in technology since we wrote the Tech 
Act, ten years ago. Technology can do more for more people than ever 
before--and that trend is going to continue. But that also means the 
consequences are greater than ever if we don't make assistive 
technology, information technology, and our society generally, more 
accessible, because the more technology can do, the further people with 
disabilities will fall behind if they can't use it.
  Mr. President, this Act enjoys broad support in the disability 
community and the assistive technology community, and is endorsed by 
the National Governors Association. I hope my colleagues will join 
Senators Jeffords, Bond, and me, and our other cosponsors, in 
supporting this worthwhile Act.
 Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today with my colleagues Senator 
Jeffords and Senator Harkin I introduce the Assistive Technology Act of 
1998. This important piece of legislation will provide technical 
assistance to the more than 50 million citizens in the United States 
with disabilities.
  The Tech Act, passed in 1988, has proven time and again its 
invaluable assistance in helping persons with disabilities acquire 
assistive technology that improves their functional capability and 
quality of life. This technical assistance allows students to learn 
better in school, adults to acquire jobs, and seniors to live more 
independently. I have seen the success of the State Tech Act projects 
first hand in my home State of Missouri. It is estimated that 750,000 
Missourians of all ages live with a disabling condition. Ms. Diane 
Golden, of the Missouri Assistive Technology Project, informed me that 
Missouri's state office handled 4,000 direct cases this past year, not 
including thousands of calls regarding information and referrals.
  Mr. President, Missourians know the impact of the State Tech Act 
Projects.
  Wanda, an elder Kansas City woman lost most of her hearing late in 
life. For three years, she lived without the ability to talk with 
friends or to call her doctor in an emergency. Wanda's inability to use 
the telephone, in addition to other age related issues, was threatening 
her ability to continue living in her own home.
  Missouri Tech Act Project staff worked with Wanda to identify an 
adaptive telephone that would allow her to continue to live 
independently. The cost of the device was prohibitive for this woman 
and no public funding source was available. Nevertheless, Project staff 
located a private funding source for the adaptive telephone and as a 
result Wanda has been able to continue to live independently.
  Realizing that thousands of individuals throughout the state were 
facing the same need for adaptive telephone equipment, the Project 
developed a statewide telecommunication equipment distribution program 
that provides Missourians, with all types of disabilities, adaptive 
telephone equipment. The program has been operational for a year and 
has provided more than one million dollars of adaptive telephone 
equipment to thousands of Missourians.
  Another Missourian, Mary, an 8-year-old young girl, who is non-vocal, 
needed an augmentative communication device that would allow her to 
communicate at home and school. Medicaid had approved purchasing the 
device just before its conversion from a fee-based system to a managed 
care system. The new managed care plan was unfamiliar with augmentative 
communication devices and the family was having no success in securing 
the device. Project staff worked with the managed care provider to 
explain the importance and cost-effectiveness of augmentative 
communication devices and as a result, secured funding for Mary's 
device.

  Understanding that most, if not all, of the managed care plans under 
contract with Medicaid would be unfamiliar with augmentative 
communication devices and other types of assistive technology, Project 
staff worked with the Missouri Medicaid plans to educate them about the 
importance, cost-effectiveness, and coverage of assistive technology. 
As a result, numerous plans routinely approve assistive technology. As 
a result, numerous plans routinely approve assistive technology devices 
and many call the Project for assistance when they receive requests for 
assistive devices of which they are unfamiliar.
  These examples are just a small sampling of the successes of the 
Missouri Technology Assistance Project. Some other accomplishments of 
the Project include development of an educational technology access 
informational packet that the Department of Education distributed to 
more than 17,000 schools nationally; passage of a sales tax exemption 
for the purchase of assistive technology in Missouri; establishment of 
a short-term equipment loan program; development and distribution of a 
Consumer Guide to Missouri Assistive Device Lemon Laws; and 
establishment of a web page with postings of equipment for their 
recycling program.
  Missouri's success is one example of the many accomplishments of 
other State Tech Act Projects since the inception of the Tech Act in 
1988. The Assistive Technology Act of 1988 will guarantee that states 
continue to serve the disabled community, their families, friends, 
teachers, and employers.
  The bill we are introducing also provides improvements to the current 
State Tech Act Projects. Some notable improvements include better 
coordination and information sharing; Microloan programs to help 
assistive technology end users in obtaining assistive devices; 
incentive grants to assure better accountability of all programs; and 
increased small business investment in assistive and universally 
designed technology research and development. These improvements and 
new initiatives strengthen the work currently done by the State Tech 
Act Projects, encourage improvements to current programs and are 
forward looking in the acquisition, development, and service delivery 
of assistive technology.
  State Tech Act Projects provide vital technology related services to 
individuals with disabilities. The initiatives of these important 
programs ensure the availability of technology to people with 
disabilities that make living independently a reality. The Assistive 
Technology Act of 1998 strengthens and maintains a program that works 
for a constituency that would otherwise be denied the exciting 
opportunities that technology affords.
  Mr. President I urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House to 
pass this legislation expediently so that technological assistance can 
continue to be available for our nation's disabled.
  Let me conclude by thanking my distinguished colleagues Senator 
Jeffords and Senator Harkin and their staff for their hard work on this 
important piece of legislation. Mr. President, on behalf of Senators 
Jeffords and Harkin and myself, I ask unanimous consent to print in the 
Record, a letter of support for the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 
from the United Cerebral Palsy Association.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                           United Cerebral Palsy Associations,

                                Washington, DC, September 2, 1998.
       Dear Senators Jeffords, bond, and Harkin: On behalf of 
     Untied Cerebral Palsy Association (UCPA) and our 151 
     affiliates, we strongly endorse the Assistive Technology Act 
     of 1998. We applaud your interest in overcoming barriers to, 
     funding for, and access to assistive technology devices and 
     services for individuals with disabilities of all ages. This 
     access provides the gateway to not only education and 
     employment but also other activities of daily living for the 
     approximately 54 million individuals with disabilities in 
     this country.
       Through our national technical assistance efforts, UCPA has 
     been able to assist thousands of people by providing 
     information, training and technical assistance to individuals 
     with disabilities, family members, and those who work with 
     individuals with disabilities. However, a great number of 
     individuals do not have access to assistive technology that 
     would improve their quality of life. This legislation will 
     further the goal of universal access.
       Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this 
     legislation.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Peter Keiser,
                      Chair, Community Services Committee.
                                 ______