Assistive Technology Information Act of 1998

[Beth Marsau]

Thank you Francie:

I do remember the news release about the Act passed in November, so it's
nice to know how this bill was incorporated with that. It will be
interesting to see how all of this eventually develops within the next decade.

Thanks for sending the updates.

Beth


At 02:34 PM 1/4/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Beth.  Thank you for asking about this bill which was introduced by
>Representatives Deal & Gingrich and would have created a national website
>on assistive technology with links to state Tech Act project websites. The
>Bill was referred to House Committee on Education & the Workforce and its
>contents were then incorporated into the body of the Assistive Technology
>Act(ATA) of 1998.  That Act passed both houses of Congress and was signed
>by the President in November of 1998.  Funding for the ATA was
>incorporated in a different Bill, the Omnibus Appropriations Act.  The
>total amount provided is less than that "authorized" under the ATA and it
>is not clear how that will impact program development.  However, Section
>104 of the Act states that Congress "shall fund" the establishment and
>maintenance of a "National Public Internet Site for the purposes of
>providing . . . technical assistance and information on increased access
>to assistive technology devices, assistive technology services, and other
>disability-related resources."  Funding of such a site thus appears to be
>mandatory.  
>
>You can view the full text of the ATA of 98 on our website at
>http://wata.org.  Note that funding was not provided for Titles II or III
>of the Act.  
>
>Please let me know if you have any additional questions.  
>
>Francie Pennell
>  *****************************************
>Frances E. Pennell Policy & Funding Specialist Washington Assistive
>Technology Alliance Box 357920 University of Washington Seattle,
>Washington 98195-7920 (206)  685-4181 V (206)  616-1395 TTY (206)  
>543-4779 FAX
>
>
>On Sun, 3 Jan 1999, Beth Marsau wrote:
>
>> 
>> I'm curious about this bill.  Any discussion about it? Don't see any action
>> on the House floor...
>> 
>> Assistive Technology Information Act of 1998 (Introduced in the
>> House)[H.R.4461.IH] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
>> 
>> 
>
>
>