“U.S. Senator Bob Casey’s (D-PA) bipartisan legislation, introduced with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), has passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Website Accessibility Act (S. 3587) will ensure that individuals with disabilities, including blindness, can access VA webpages in accordance with existing federal law. A companion version of this bill, H.R. 1199, was introduced by U.S. Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA-2), and passed the House on October 15, 2019. With its passage in the House, the legislation will go to President Trump for his signature.”
“Under current law, the Rehabilitation Act requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not made all of their websites accessible for individuals who are blind or have vision impairments. This creates an extra, unacceptable burden for blind veterans, as well as blind family members of veterans, who may wish to use online or electronic resources through the VA.”
“The VA Website Accessibility Act will address this issue by requiring the VA to examine all of their websites to determine if they are accessible to people with disabilities. It will also require the VA to submit a report to Congress detailing which websites are not accessible to people with disabilities, along with a plan to make them accessible and a description of existing barriers to doing so…” Read the full press release here.
Source: Bipartisan Casey, Moran Bill to Ensure VA Website Accessibility Passes House, Goes to President for Signature – November 17, 2020. Office of US Senator Bob Casey.
