Harkin Works to Make Television More Accessible for the Visually Impaired
by Caroline Vernon

This guy is my hero! He's always looking out for the underdog... being a disabled person myself, I am eternally grateful for the work he is doing.

Thanks to: Allison Dobson/ Maureen Knightly
April 26, 2005

Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) yesterday joined Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and Ted Stevens (R-AK) to introduce the Television Information-Enhancement for the Visually Impaired (TIVI) Act of 2005. This bipartisan measure would increase video description in television programming — a service that allows blind and visually impaired viewers to enjoy television programming through the insertion of verbal descriptions of actions or settings not contained in the normal audio track of a program.

“It is important that television broadcasters make public airwaves accessible for all Americans to enjoy,” Harkin said “This bill will ensure that video description services are available to individuals with visual disabilities.”
Specifically, the TIVI Act will require television broadcasters, during at least 50 hours of their prime time or children’s programming every quarter, to insert verbal descriptions of actions or settings not contained in the normal audio track of a program. The description is often provided over a Secondary Audio Programming channel (SAP), which currently allows additional soundtracks, such as foreign language programming.

This bill is necessary due to a 2002 decision by District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals which held that the Federal Communications Commission did not have authority to issue the video description rules in 2000.
This bill would reinstate the FCC’s video description rules within 45 days of enactment and would authorize the FCC to make additional changes to the rules. Further, the bill would require the FCC to consider whether on-screen, emergency warnings should be provided in an accessible format for viewers with disabilities.

Senator Harkin, sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), is a longstanding advocate for individuals with disabilities in the U.S. and abroad.