We, at Purple, are thrilled that we are able to sponsor Marlee Matlin’s presence in Washington DC as a National Association of the Deaf (NAD) spokesperson advocating for the next civil rights bill for deaf and hard of hearing people.

The NAD issued an announcement on this topic.

You may recall my recent vlog on the COAT Bill.

In today’s vlog, I also talk about her powerful testimony 1990 for a law requiring all TVs to have caption chips.

The FCC issued an order stating that if deaf people meet on the phone and have a conference call, the FCC will not allow reimbursement unless there is a hearing person involved This decision did not come from the top of the FCC but from a bureau under the Commissioners. We are now addressing the issue with the Commissioners.

Readers may remember my previous vlog on this topic–asking for rules clarification.

Relay providers should not be in business to simply conduct workplace calls. Purple has asked the FCC for a rule requiring providers to track and disclose conference call minutes so the FCC can evaluate the minutes used by providers. Purple has also requested the FCC to consider reimbursing these calls at cost, which would demonstrate that conference calls are not being used to generate a profit for providers. Purple is committed to improving the transparency of the industry and fighting for what the ADA requires. Purple very much wants to dialogue with the FCC and the industry about establishing clear rules.

Purple intends to comply with the order, but remains committed to effecting change and advocating for the deaf community.

RID has filed a letter in support of the original petition.

Consumer groups have asked the FCC Commissioners to reverse the Bureau’s decision. Purple has also filed a similar Application for Review.

You can share your opinions with the FCC. The following link will provide you instructions on how to file comments with the FCC.

Many of you have asked how you can make your views known to the FCC on docket 10-51.

Click here.

Complete all other required information boxes.

Scroll down to the section for typing your comments.

Find out why the COAT Bill (HR 3101) is important. Captioning on the Internet! Functional equivalent access to Relay! Affordable broadband! Etc.

Click here to see Congressman Markey’s letter to other members of Congress urging their support of HR 3101 (COAT Bill).

Click here to see the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT)’s website–and to learn more about the COAT Bill.

Click here to read the National Association of the Deaf’s summary of the COAT Bill.

Click here to learn how you can contact Congress urging their support of the COAT Bill.

Click here to see Caption Action 2, a grassroots campaign for the COAT Bill–providing regular updates on efforts to gain support for the bill.