I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2527
To provide grants for training of realtime court reporters and closed
captioners to meet the requirements for closed captioning set forth in
the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 17, 2001
Mr. KIND (for himself, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mrs.
BIGGERT, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. PETRI, and Mr. KLECZKA) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
A BILL
To provide grants for training of realtime court reporters
and closed captioners to meet the requirements for closed
captioning set forth in the Telecommunications Act of
1996.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Training for Closed
Captioners Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) As directed by the Congress in section 723
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613)
(as added by section 305 of the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104, 110 Stat. 56,
126, February 8, 1996)), the Federal Communica-
tions Commission adopted rules requiring closed
captioning of most television programming, which
gradually require new video programming to be fully
captioned beginning in 2006.
(2) Over 28 million Americans, or 8 percent,
are considered deaf or hard of hearing and many re-
quire captioning services to participate in main-
stream activities.
(3) Over 24,000 children are born each year
with some form of hearing loss.
(4) According to the United States Department
of Health and Human Services and a study done by
the National Council on Aging—
(A) 25 percent of Americans over 65 years
old are hearing impaired;
(B) 33 percent of Americans over 70 years
old are hearing impaired; and
(C) 41 percent of Americans over 75 years
old are hearing impaired.
(5) The National Council on Aging study also
found that depression in older adults may be directly
related to hearing loss and disconnection with the
spoken word.
(6) Over the past 5 years, student enrollment in
programs that train court reporters to become closed
captioners has decreased significantly, causing such
programs to close on many campuses.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT PROGRAM TO PRO-
MOTE TRAINING OF CLOSED CAPTIONERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall pro-
vide grants to not more than 20 eligible entities under sub-
section (b), to promote training of students (including
those who have completed a court reporting training pro-
gram) to become realtime closed captioners, to meet the
requirements set forth in section 723 of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) and the rules pre-
scribed thereunder.
(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity shall be
a court reporting program approved by the National Court
Reporters Association and accredited by an accrediting
agency recognized by the Department of Education.
(c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of
a grant provided under subsection (a) to an entity eligible
under subsection (b) may not exceed $1,000,000 for any
fiscal year.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION.
To receive a grant under section 3, an eligible entity
shall submit an application to the Secretary of Labor at
such time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion as the Secretary may reasonably require.
SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.
(a) PERMITTED USES.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this Act shall use the funds to recruit
and train students (including those who have completed
a court reporting training program) to become realtime
closed captioners, including—
(1) recruitment costs;
(2) scholarship incentives and opportunities;
(3) payment of personnel directly related to the
operation of the program;
(4) development of a distance learning aspect of
the program;
(5) development of education and training pro-
grams;
(6) assistance in job placement for upcoming
and recent graduates with all types of captioning
employers; and
(7) encouragement of individuals with disabil-
ities to pursue a career in realtime closed captioning.
(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out
the program described in subsection (a), a grant recipient
shall—
(1) provide for development and tracking of
performance-outcome measures for the program and
the program’s training providers; and
(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary such
reports as the Secretary may require on best prac-
tices and successes developed by the grant recipient
through the program.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A recipient of a grant
under this Act may not use more than 5 percent of the
amount of such grant to pay for administrative costs asso-
ciated with the program described in subsection (a).
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through
2006.
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