The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) - Andrew Imparato

3/23/2001

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is pleased to submit comments in response to the proposal of the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to incorporate Electronic and Information Technology Standards pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (FAR 1999-607).

AAPD is a national membership organization for children and adults with disabilities, their family members and supporters. AAPD's mission is to promote political and economic empowerment for the more than 56 million children and adults with disabilities in the U.S. From AAPD's perspective, section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act has great potential to open doors for people with disabilities as employees and customers of the federal government. Also, because the federal government is such a large purchaser of electronic and information technology, section 508 has great potential to be a catalyst for changes in products and services that will be made available in the private sector as well. All of this helps to advance our mission of economic empowerment for people with disabilities.

AAPD applauds the Councils for their leadership in ensuring that the proposed rule has proceeded in conformance with the requirements of section 508. AAPD is concerned, however, about the exemption for micro-purchases made through the use of a Government wide commercial purchase card even though the rule proposes a sunset date of January 1, 2003 for the exemption. AAPD is concerned that section 508, as written in Title IV of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), provides for no such exemption from the law's requirements, and we are not aware of any legislative history which supports the exemption proposed by the Councils.

Moreover, AAPD is concerned that the language in the proposed rule encouraging contracting officers and others to comply with accessibility standards "to the maximum extent practicable" creates a standard for compliance that is far lower than the "undue burden" standard set forth in the law.

Unless the proposed exemption is dropped or modified, AAPD is concerned that the exemption will undermine the efforts clearly outlined by section 508 to provide information and data by alternative means when development, procurement,maintenance, or use of electronic or information technology that meets the standards incorporated into this notice would impose an undue burden.

AAPD understands the rationale provided for the exemption and we have noted the sunset provision. Should the Councils maintain this exemption, AAPD requests that the following recommendations relevant to its modification be considered:

Sunset Provision

The notice proposes that, prior to the sunset date of January 1, 2003, the Government will revisit the state of technology and the pace at which manufacturers have conformed to the required standards. There is no further explanation of how that might be related to any process for sunset and, consequently, how such a review would affect an extension of this provision. The notice also asserts that contracting officers and other individuals designated in accordance with the micro purchase authority are encouraged to comply with the applicable accessibility standards to the maximum extent practicable. We recommend the following:

1. The Councils should utilize the Department of Justice review process related to the state of Federal department and agency compliance with the requirements of section 508 which, by definition, will include agency experience with the accessibility standards. The first biennial report should be completed prior to the sunset date specified in the rule.

2. In order to assist this class of contracting officers and other individuals described in this notice, the Councils should provide guidance we describe below to Government wide cardholders which outlines the expectation of compliance with the accessibility standards as outlined in the notice at 39.X04(a).

Guidance to Government wide Cardholders

We support the proposed rule's encouragement of government wide cardholders to comply with section 508 standards. Unfortunately, as written, the proposed rule's hortatory language provides no guidance as to how compliance might be accomplished in practice. For example, there exist commercially available products priced under current micro purchase specifications that would enable an employee who is blind to have access to and use information in the manner outlined in Section 508. Yet, the notice makes no mention of the availability of these products. Such products include access software and hardware like speech synthesizers, combination speech and screen magnification packages, screen magnification packages, and portable devises like Braille 'N Speak and Type 'N Speak, all of which cost less than $1,100.

The notice asserts that it is generally impracticable to comply with accessibility standards unless all commercial off-the-shelf products incorporate the standards. This assertion, if allowed to remain as the only guidance on record for the micro purchase exemption, raises a real concern that cardholders will not even meet the minimum standards outlined in the notice.

AAPD recommends the following:

1. The Federal IT Accessibility Initiative has requested that each Federal agency appoint a coordinator to direct the implementation of section 508 to include a status report on implementation progress. The Councils should direct these coordinators to provide guidance to Government wide cardholders with regard to products which are commercially available and may be purchased under current micro purchase guidelines.

2. The General Services Administration should provide a list of such products on its own section 508 website which is regularly updated during the course of the proposed micro purchase exemption.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on these important rules and urge the Councils to be responsive to our recommendations. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Andrew J. Imparato
President and CEO
American Association of People with Disabilities