II 

Calendar No. 142

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 268

[Report No. 109–93] 

To provide competitive grants for training court reporters and closed 

captioners to meet requirements for realtime writers under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2005

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. KOHL, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

BINGAMAN, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. DODD, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, 

Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. SMITH, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Mr. DAYTON, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. LOTT, Mr. PRYOR, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. BAYH, Mr. JEFFORDS, and 

Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

JUNE 27, 2005

Reported by Mr. STEVENS, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL

To provide competitive grants for training court reporters 

and closed captioners to meet requirements for realtime 

writers under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and 

for other purposes.
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•S 268 RS 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Training for Realtime 

5 Writers Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) As directed by Congress in section 723 713

9 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

10 613), as added by section 305 of the Telecommuni11 cations Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110 Stat. 

12 126), the Federal Communications Commission 

13 adopted rules requiring closed captioning of most 

14 television programming, which gradually require new 

15 video programming to be fully captioned in English 

16 by 2006 and Spanish by 2010. 

17 (2) More than 28,000,000 Americans, or 8 per18 cent of the population, are considered deaf or hard 

19 of hearing, and many require captioning services to 

20 participate in mainstream activities. 

21 (3) More than 24,000 children are born in the 

22 United States each year with some form of hearing 

23 loss. 
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1 (4) According to the Department of Health and 

2 Human Services and a study done by the National 

3 Council on Aging— 

4 (A) 25 percent of Americans over 65 years 

5 old are hearing impaired; 

6 (B) 33 percent of Americans over 70 years 

7 old are hearing impaired; and 

8 (C) 41 percent of Americans over 75 years 

9 old are hearing impaired. 

10 (5) The National Council on Aging study also 

11 found that depression in older adults may be directly 

12 related to hearing loss and disconnection with the 

13 spoken word. 

14 (6) Empirical research demonstrates that cap15 tions improve the performance of individuals learn16 ing to read English and, according to numerous 

17 Federal agency statistics, could benefit—

18 (A) 3,700,000 remedial readers; 

19 (B) 12,000,000 young children learning to 

20 read; 

21 (C) 27,000,000 illiterate adults; and 

22 (D) 30,000,000 people for whom English 

23 is a second language. 

24 (7) Over the past decade, student enrollment in 

25 programs that train realtime writers and closed 
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1 captioners has decreased by 50 percent, even though 

2 job placement upon graduation is 100 percent. 

3 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM TO PRO4 MOTE TRAINING AND JOB PLACEMENT OF 

5 REALTIME WRITERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Telecommuni7 cations and Information Administration Secretary of Com8 merce shall make competitive grants to eligible entities 

9 under subsection (b) to promote training and placement 

10 of individuals, including individuals who have completed 

11 a court reporting training program, as realtime writers in 

12 order to meet the requirements for closed captioning of 

13 video programming set forth in section 723 713 of the 

14 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) and the 

15 rules prescribed thereunder. 

16 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this Act, 

17 an eligible entity is a court reporting program that—

18 (1) can document and demonstrate to the Sec19 retary of Commerce that it meets minimum stand20 ards of educational and financial accountability, with 

21 a curriculum capable of training realtime writers 

22 qualified to provide captioning services; 

23 (2) is accredited by an accrediting agency rec24 ognized by the Department of Education; and 
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1 (3) is participating in student aid programs 

2 under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

3 (c) PRIORITY IN GRANTS.—In determining whether 

4 to make grants under this section, the Secretary of Com5 merce shall give a priority to eligible entities that, as de6 termined by the Secretary of Commerce—

7 (1) possess the most substantial capability to 

8 increase their capacity to train realtime writers; 

9 (2) demonstrate the most promising collabora10 tion with local educational institutions, businesses, 

11 labor organizations, or other community groups hav12 ing the potential to train or provide job placement 

13 assistance to realtime writers; or 

14 (3) propose the most promising and innovative 

15 approaches for initiating or expanding training and 

16 job placement assistance efforts with respect to 

17 realtime writers. 

18 (d) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant under this sec19 tion shall be for a period of two years. 

20 (e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of 

21 a grant provided under subsection (a) to an entity eligible 

22 may not exceed $1,500,000 for the two-year period of the 

23 grant under subsection (d). 
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1 SEC. 4. APPLICATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under section 

3 3, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the Na4 tional Telecommunications and Information Administra5 tion Secretary of Commerce at such time and in such man6 ner as the Administration Secretary may require. The ap7 plication shall contain the information set forth under sub8 section (b). 

9 (b) INFORMATION.—Information in the application of 

10 an eligible entity under subsection (a) for a grant under 

11 section 3 shall include the following: 

12 (1) A description of the training and assistance 

13 to be funded using the grant amount, including how 

14 such training and assistance will increase the num15 ber of realtime writers. 

16 (2) A description of performance measures to 

17 be utilized to evaluate the progress of individuals re18 ceiving such training and assistance in matters relat19 ing to enrollment, completion of training, and job 

20 placement and retention. 

21 (3) A description of the manner in which the el22 igible entity will ensure that recipients of scholar23 ships, if any, funded by the grant will be employed 

24 and retained as realtime writers. 

25 (4) A description of the manner in which the el26 igible entity intends to continue providing the train-
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1 ing and assistance to be funded by the grant after 

2 the end of the grant period, including any partner3 ships or arrangements established for that purpose. 

4 (5) A description of how the eligible entity will 

5 work with local workforce investment boards to en6 sure that training and assistance to be funded with 

7 the grant will further local workforce goals, includ8 ing the creation of educational opportunities for in9 dividuals who are from economically disadvantaged 

10 backgrounds or are displaced workers. 

11 (6) Additional information, if any, of the eligi12 bility of the eligible entity for priority in the making 

13 of grants under section 3(c). 

14 (7) Such other information as the Administra15 tion may require. 

16 SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 

18 grant under section 3 shall use the grant amount for pur19 poses relating to the recruitment, training and assistance, 

20 and job placement of individuals, including individuals 

21 who have completed a court reporting training program, 

22 as realtime writers, including—

23 (1) recruitment; 

24 (2) subject to subsection (b), the provision of 

25 scholarships; 
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1 (3) distance learning; 

2 (4) further develop and implement both English 

3 and Spanish curriculum to more effectively train 

4 realtime writing skills, and education in the knowl5 edge necessary for the delivery of high-quality closed 

6 captioning services; 

7 (5) mentor students to ensure successful com8 pletion of the realtime training and provide assist9 ance in job placement; 

10 (6) encourage individuals with disabilities to 

11 pursue a career in realtime writing; and 

12 (7) the employment and payment of personnel 

13 for such purposes. 

14 (b) SCHOLARSHIPS.—

15 (1) AMOUNT.—The amount of a scholarship 

16 under subsection (a)(2) shall be based on the 

17 amount of need of the recipient of the scholarship 

18 for financial assistance, as detemined in accordance 

19 with part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

20 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk). 

21 (2) AGREEMENT.—Each recipient of a scholar22 ship under subsection (a)(2) shall enter into an 

23 agreement with the National Telecommunications 

24 and Information Administration Secretary of Com25 merce to provide realtime writing services for a pe-
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1 riod of time (as determined by the Administration) 

2 Secretary) that is appropriate (as so determined) for 

3 the amount of the scholarship received. 

4 (3) COURSEWORK AND EMPLOYMENT.—The 

5 Administration Secretary shall establish require6 ments for coursework and employment for recipients 

7 of scholarships under subsection (a)(2), including re8 quirements for repayment of scholarship amounts in 

9 the event of failure to meet such requirements for 

10 coursework and employment. employment or other 

11 material terms under subsection (b)(2). Requirements 

12 for repayment of scholarship amounts shall take into 

13 account the effect of economic conditions on the ca14 pacity of scholarship recipients to find work as 

15 realtime writers. 

16 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The recipient of a 

17 grant under section 3 may not use more than 5 percent 

18 of the grant amount to pay administrative costs associated 

19 with activities funded by the grant. The Secretary shall use 

20 no more than 5 percent of the amount available for grants 

21 under this Act in any fiscal year for administrative costs 

22 of the program. 

23 (d) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant amounts 

24 under this Act shall supplement and not supplant other 

25 Federal or non-Federal funds of the grant recipient for 
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1 purposes of promoting the training and placement of indi2 viduals as realtime writers. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

4 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Each eligible entity receiv5 ing a grant under section 3 shall submit to the National 

6 Telecommunications and Information Administration, Sec7 retary of Commerce, at the end of each year of the grant 

8 period, a report on the activities of such entity with re9 spect to the use of grant amounts during such year. 

10 (b) REPORT INFORMATION.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report of an entity for 

12 a year under subsection (a) shall include a descrip13 tion of the use of grant amounts by the entity dur14 ing such year, including an assessment by the entity 

15 of the effectiveness of activities carried out using 

16 such funds in increasing the number of realtime 

17 writers. The assessment shall utilize the performance 

18 measures submitted by the entity in the application 

19 for the grant under section 4(b). 

20 (2) FINAL REPORT.—The final report of an en21 tity on a grant under subsection (a) shall include a 

22 description of the best practices identified by the en23 tity as a result of the grant for increasing the num24 ber of individuals who are trained, employed, and re25 tained in employment as realtime writers.
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1 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Inspector General of the 

2 Department of Commerce shall conduct an annual review 

3 of the management, efficiency, and effectiveness of the 

4 grants made under this Act.

5 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this Act, amounts as follows: 

8 (1) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006, 

9 2007, and 2008. 

10 (2) Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

11 year 2009.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec13 retary of Commerce to carry out this Act $20,000,000 for 

14 each of fiscal years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. 

15 SEC. 8. SUNSET. 

16 This Act is repealed effective October 1, 2009. 
Calendar No. 142

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 268

[Report No. 109–93] 

A BILL

To provide competitive grants for training court reposes. communications Act of 1996, and for other pur- ments for realtime writers under the Tele- porters and closed captioners to meet requireJUNE 27, 2005

Reported with amendments