Terrie l.arnold Begin forwarded message: > From: "Peter Altschul" <[email protected]> > Date: September 19, 2011 10:21:44 AM CDT > To: <[email protected]> > Cc: 'Donna Smith' <[email protected]> > Subject: [acb-l] FW: [leadership] Public comment urged for new air-travel > disabilityrules > > > > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Eric Bridges > Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 10:22 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [leadership] Public comment urged for new air-travel disabilityrules > > Please take advantage of this easy way to provide public comment concerning > air travel for people with disabilities. > > Eric > > > FOR RELEASE: Monday, Sept. 19, 2011 > > Contact: Kathleen Corcorabn > > Phone: (703) 299-6738 > [email protected] > > Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative’s Regulation Room Bolsters Public > Participation in New Department of Transportation Proposals Affecting Air > Travelers with Disabilities > > ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell University e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) and the > Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together to make it easier for > the public to comment on proposed new federal regulations requiring air > travel websites and airport check-in kiosks to be fully accessible to > travelers with disabilities. > > The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are more than 15 million adults in the > United States with vision, auditory, or mobility disabilities. About 30 > percent of adults with disabilities travel by air, and the DOT expects this > number to rise if it were easier to buy tickets and other services online, > and to check-in using kiosks. Airlines and online travel agencies have > argued, however, that the costs of achieving full accessibility are too > great. > > Travelers with disabilities, web designers, usability experts, and others > with an interest in this proposal can use CeRI’s online participation site, > Regulation Room (www.regulationroom.org), to get easy-to-read explanations of > the proposal, look at the cost and benefit estimates, and discuss how the > proposal could be improved. Then, CeRI will summarize the discussion on > Regulation Room and submit it as a public comment that DOT will consider in > finalizing the accessibility regulations. > > “The Department’s partnership with the Cornell eRulemaking Initiative makes > it easier than ever for the public to comment on our proposed rules,” said > U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “I encourage everyone interested > in our proposed website and kiosk accessibility to share their thoughts on > the user-friendly Regulation Room site.” > > “CeRI and DOT are both committed to getting more of the public involved > meaningfully in the rulemaking process, and we believe that Regulation Room > efforts so far have been quite successful,” said Cynthia Farina, Professor of > Law and CeRI principal researcher. “We are especially excited about doing > the air travel accessibility rule. DOT needs help from travelers with > disabilities and from others with practical experience in accessible design > to answer many questions the Department has about creating reliable, > cost-effective standards for websites and kiosks.“ > > This is the fourth rulemaking in which DOT and CeRI are using Regulation Room > to make it easier for ordinary people to participate effectively in important > government policy decisions. “We look forward to again providing an open, > transparent, and collaborative forum for people to have their voices heard on > an important federal policy initiative,” said Professor Farina. > > The Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) is a multidisciplinary research > collaboration bringing together Cornell University faculty and students from > Computing and Information Science, Law, and the Scheinman Institute on > Conflict Resolution. Working with legal informatics professionals at the > Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School (law.cornell.edu), CeRI > researchers consult with government agencies on, and engage in theoretical > and applied research about, the technology and practice of e-rulemaking and > related areas of e-government. > > Regulation Room (www.regulationroom.org) is a CeRI pilot project that > provides an online environment for people and groups to learn about, discuss, > and react to selected rules proposed by federal agencies. Contributions > become part of a formal public comment prepared by CeRI researchers and > submitted to the federal agency for use in preparation of a final ruling. > Regulation Room is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, > Google, and the IBM Center for the Business of Government. > > Regulation Room on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/regulationroom > > Regulation Room on Twitter: http://twitter.com/regulationroom > > > > --30-- > > > If you would rather not receive future communications from Cornell > University, let us know by clicking here. > Cornell University, University Communications 353 Pine Tree Road, Ithaca, NY > 14850 United States > _______________________________________________ > acb-l mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-l
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