© 2008
Captioner Training Bill
provided by Gayl Hardeman
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill which will provide funding and training for real time writers also known to us as captioners.
The information below is from TDI (Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing):
U.S. HOUSE PASS CAPTIONER TRAINING BILL
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 (H.R. 4137), otherwise known as the Higher Education Reauthorization bill. This bill, championed by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), includes a grant program to train realtime writers to meet the demands of providing communication access to 30 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans.
National Court Reporter Association (NCRA) Executive Director and CEO Mark J. Golden, CAE, states, "Passing this language demonstrates that Congress truly understands that people with hearing loss deserve full and effective communication access which can only be provided by qualified stenographic realtime writers. This funding will go a long way in helping to bring more realtime writers into the workforce and meet the growing demand for this necessary service. We are honored that people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and the providers who serve them have a champion like Ron Kind on Capitol Hill. NCRA has been working side-by-side with Congressman Kind since 2001 on this issue and congratulates him on this step toward success."
"Court reporters are the guardians of the public record, and closed captioners help our hard-of-hearing residents stay informed," Rep. Kind said. "Right now we are educating only half the realtime writers we need, and I am pleased that this new grant program will increase awareness and interest in this vital profession."
NCRA will now diligently work toward ensuring that the same language is included in the final conference bill that is presented to President Bush for his signature and approval, as the Senate has already passed its version of the Higher Education Reauthorization bill. The Senate has included similar language in its previous attempts to pass a similar bill.
The supply of court reporters still seriously lags behind demand for their services in courtrooms and law offices, in television studios to caption newscasts, and in schools and other settings to provide interpretive services for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. According to NCRA estimates, the number of court reporters in the United States has dropped to approximately 35,000, down from 43,000 in ten years. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that employment of realtime court reporters may experience substantial growth between now and 2016. For more information, go to www.ncraonline.org.