As lawmakers from the president on down marked the Americans With Disabilities Act’s 20th birthday, the House voted to make it easier for disabled people to get online. Rep. Edward Markey quipped that the disabled “need online ramps to the Internet so they can get to the Web from wherever they happen to be.”

For the people who have been enabled and protected by the ADA for the last 20 years, it’s so much more than a way to get onto the sidewalk. Good on Congress for continuing that work. — PZS

AP via Google:

“The ADA mandated physical ramps into buildings,” said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., sponsor of the bill. “Today, individuals with disabilities need online ramps to the Internet so they can get to the Web from wherever they happen to be.”

The bill, which passed 348-23 and now moves to the Senate, takes such steps as making it easier for the blind to access the Internet from smart phones, providing deaf people with the ability to watch new TV programs online with captions included, and requiring that telecom equipment used to make calls over the Internet be compatible with hearing aids.

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