Deaf Services Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on House Administration.
Deaf Services Act - Title I: Installation of Telecommunications Devices in Federal Agencies and in Other Locations - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, after consultation with specified organizations with special knowledge of the problems of deaf persons, to select at least five Federal agencies with which deaf persons have the greatest need for communication and have installed in each such agency and its regional offices a device which permits two-way communication of textual messages in alphanumeric form by telephone lines. Directs the Secretary to select an additional 100 locations for installation of such devices which shall be available to deaf people for their use in communicating with the agencies selected under this Act and with Members of Congress who choose to install such a device under Title III of this Act. Requires the Secretary to prescribe the rates to be charged to the users of such telecommunications devices. Stipulates that such charges may not exceed the cost that would have been incurred had such users been nondeaf persons seeking the same assistance by use of a telephone. Directs the Secretary to disseminate information about the availability of such devices as widely as possible to local organizations of the deaf. Directs that at least one employee be available during normal working hours at each location where such devices are located for use by deaf persons to assist such persons in the use of such devices. Title II: Grants to States - Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to any State or local government for installing telecommunications devices for the deaf in government agencies and other locations in a program to be identical to the Federal program established in Title I of this Act. Sets the level of such grants at 75 percent of the cost of installing and operating such devices. Authorizes annual continuing grants for such purposes to be made after assurances have been received that the requirements of this Act have been and will continue to be met during the ensuing year. Requires the Secretary to seek the cooperation of the Administrator of General Services in having transferred to States any telecommunications devices for the deaf categorized as Federal surplus property. Title III: Installation of Telecommunications Devices in Offices of Members of Congress and in the Capitol - Requires that any Member of Congress making a written request for a telecommunications device for the deaf be provided with one. Directs the Architect of the Capitol to install at the central switchboard in the United States Capitol a telecommunications device for the deaf and requires at least one employee trained in the use of such device to be available during normal working hours to provide assistance to deaf persons. Title IV: Report to Congress - Requires the Secretary to report to Congress within two years after the installation of the first telecommunications device under this Act describing the effectiveness of the programs established by this Act and making recommendations on the continuation and expansion of such programs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 14, 1979. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 14, 1979: Referred to House Committee on House Administration.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
MARILYN LLOYD (D-TN) introduced it on March 14, 1979. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 14, 1979, 17347 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17347 days ago, on March 14, 1979.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers