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Commerce Department Hosts Event to Commemorate 20th Anniversary of Americans With Disabilities Act

In observance of the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Commerce hosted an event today at the Herbert C. Hoover Building in partnership with the White House and the Federal Communications Commission. At the event, the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced a $15 million American Recovery and Reinvestment grant to Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc. for a project that will expand broadband adoption among people who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The event also included a technology showcase highlighting technologies developed to empower the daily lives of Americans with disabilities, the launch of the FCC’s new Accessibility and Innovation Forum, a video presentation chronicling personal histories of those with disabilities who have been impacted by technology and a performance by Gallaudet University students. Both the showcase and program were free and open to the public….

http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2010/07/19/commerce-department-hosts-event-commemorate-20th-anniversary-americans-disabilities-

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is partnering with landowners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to show what can be done to prevent runoff. The USDA’s Bob Ellison has more.

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Blockbuster Inc. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Blockbuster Inc. to ensure equal access to its stores nationwide for individuals with disabilities who use service animals.

The settlement agreement, which resolves a complaint filed under title III of the ADA by an individual with a disability, requires, among other things, that Blockbuster provide comprehensive training to employees at more than 3,000 retail stores throughout the United States to ensure individuals with disabilities who use service animals have full and equal enjoyment of its goods, services and facilities.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees equal access to individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by service animals, but too often those individuals are subject to discrimination because of misperceptions or a lack of understanding of the law,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The agreement, which will remain in effect for three years, requires that Blockbuster:

•Implement a comprehensive nationwide nondiscrimination policy regarding service animals for people with disabilities;

•Distribute the policy and train employees across the United States on the rights of service animal users and employee obligations to ensure full and equal access to Blockbuster goods, services and facilities;

•Provide the same training to new staff during the hiring process;

•Post its service animal policy on its website and in its stores, and post a “Service Animals Welcome” sign in each of its stores;

•Create a toll-free ADA complaint line;

•Establish, implement, and monitor a grievance procedure for ADA-related complaints from customers;

•Pay $12,000 in damages to the individual who filed the complaint resolved by this settlement; and

•Pay $10,000 as a civil penalty.

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/July/10-ag-831.html

Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in the Republic of Korea July 19 for meetings with top ROK officials.

Assistant Secretary Philip J. Crowley, Daily Press Briefing

[Earlier today] As we speak, the Secretary is having dinner with Afghan’s president – Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in preparation for the Kabul Conference tomorrow…. [This is] the largest gathering of leaders in Afghanistan since the 1970s. This is an Afghan-led conference and the government has told us they will present their renewed commitments on a variety of issues with a great deal of discussion centering on the upcoming transition to Afghan responsibility, discuss their plan and also their peace and reconciliation – or, I’m sorry, peace and reintegration program.

Also, the United States congratulates Afghanistan and Pakistan on concluding the historic Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement yesterday in Islamabad after more than a year of diligent and determined engagement by both sides. This agreement is one of the most important, concrete achievements between the two neighbors in 45 years and represents the most significant bilateral economic treaty ever signed between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It will undoubtedly bring great benefit to the people of both countries and is also a major milestone in promoting regional trade.

And we took note of the fact that as the Secretary left Pakistan for Afghanistan a couple of hours ago, a number of programs were announced today that demonstrate the significant United States investment in the future of Pakistan, including announcements regarding significant investments in health, water, agriculture, government-to-government partnerships, support for the private sector, energy, security, gender equality, and a wide range of programs to help those who have been displaced by the ongoing fighting in Pakistan….

Ambassador Eric Goosby, the US Global AIDS Coordinator, is currently in Vienna leading a U.S. delegation to the International AIDS conference. Yesterday at the conference, the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS announced that the United States remains the largest donor nation in the world, accounting for more than half of the donor disbursements in 2009. While we are proud of that fact, the key measure of success is lives saved, not dollars spent. And this is why, under President Obama’s Global Health Initiative, the U.S. is working to save as many lives as possible by addressing the range of health needs people have in developing countries.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/07/144840.htm

U.S. Delegation Travels to Moscow for Fourth Round of Adoption Talks

An expert-level U.S. delegation will leave for Moscow today to begin a fourth round of discussions on inter-country adoption. During the bilateral talks, which are scheduled for July 21-23, the delegation will pursue an agreement that provides greater safeguards for children and families in the adoption process between the two countries.

The United States looks forward to building on the progress achieved during the last round of discussions, held in June in Washington. Working with their Russian counterparts, the delegation will review the latest draft of the adoption agreement, making every effort to ensure that it addresses the legal and policy concerns of both countries.

The U.S. team is headed by Mary Ellen Hickey, Managing Director of the Office of Overseas Citizens Services, and includes representatives from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department’s Legal Adviser’s Office and Bureaus of Consular and European Affairs.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/07/144848.htm

For First Time, Disaster Survivors Can Apply For Federal Disaster Aid On Smartphones

by Craig Fugate, Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Back in May, we launched our mobile site, http://m.fema.gov to make it easier than ever for people to access information from FEMA quickly and easily. This launch was only a first step and I’m glad to announce today a new feature to our mobile site that allows disaster survivors to apply for federal assistance directly on their web-enabled mobile devices after Presidentially declared disasters (such as BlackBerry®, Apple iPhone®, and Windows Mobile® devices).

Registering through the mobile site takes just three easy steps:

1. Go to http://m.fema.gov and click “Apply Online for FEMA Assistance”. You will be directed to our partner site disasterassistance.gov.

2. Click on “Start Registration.”

3. Fill out the registration form to apply for assistance.

This new addition to our FEMA mobile site will provide disaster survivors with another avenue to quickly apply for assistance, not just from FEMA, but also from the Small Business Administration and our other federal partners. As smartphones become cheaper and more prevalent, and wireless networks more resilient, these devices are becoming more than just simple communication tools – they can be life lines during emergencies.

This new addition to m.fema.gov is just another way we are expanding the tools we use to communicate with the most important member of our emergency management team – the public.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/07/19/first-time-disaster-survivors-can-apply-federal-disaster-aid-smartphones

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate outlines the new enhanced features of the FEMA mobile site, m.fema.gov, including the capability for disaster survivors to register for assistance via their smartphone.