The Senate Special Committee on Aging looked into the accessibility of federal technology, specifically for seniors and individuals with disabilities, as well as older and disabled veterans.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the committee’s chairman, said accessing digital services became a more prevalent concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, after accelerating a long-term shift in delivering government services through virtual, rather than physical, platforms. The acceleration of digital services disproportionately impacted specific groups…
In an effort to improve digital platforms specifically for veterans, Congress passed legislation in 2020, called the VA Website Accessibility Act, which required the agency to report on the accessibility of its webpages and intake kiosks, both of which help veterans access their health information. But, Casey wrote in a June 6 letter to VA, after the bill was enacted, the agency still had “poor compliance” with providing web accessibility to veterans with disabilities.
“A report required by the VA Website Accessibility Act showed that only 8% of VA’s internet sites and 6% of its intranet sites are fully compliant with Section 508,” Casey wrote… Read the full article here.
