I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TOM COW NEXT
WHO IS SENIOR DIRECTOR AT THE WHITE
HOUSE ECONOMIC COUNCIL.
I HAVE KNOWN TOM FOR A FEW YEARS NOW AND
HAVE HIM AND OTHERS TRY TO GET THEIR
HAND AS AROUND FIGURING WHAT TO DO WITH
TECHNOLOGY, AND POLICY, TRYING TO HAVE A
POSITIVE IMPACT AS THE MARKETPLACE
EXPLODES WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY AND NEW
MARKET IDEAS AND ALSO NEW CONFIGURE
{ATION}S OF COMPANIES.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH A VERY INTERESTING

TIME IN TERMS OF PUBLIC POLL SNOW
EXAMPLE ALSO IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY.
ONE OF THE INTERESTING TASKS THAT THIS
ADMINISTRATION HAS AND SEVERAL AGENCIES
ARE GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN IT, YOU WILL
BE HEARING ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT TWO
DAYS FIGURING OUT FROM A FEDERAL
PERSPECTIVE WHAT TO DO TO ENCOURAGE
UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND HOPE THAT MAKES THE
MARKETPLACE WORK BETTER.
TOM IS THINKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS AT
THE WHITE HOUSE AND I'M VERY LEASED TO
HAVE HIM.
>> THANK YOU.
>> GOOD MORNING, IT IS REALLY A LAY
{VUR} AND HONOR TO BE HERE.
I THOUGHT I WOULD START OFF WITH A
GREETING FROM PRESIDENT CLINTON.
HE SAYS WARM GREETINGS TO HAVE ONE
GATHERED AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY STORE
INFORAMPS '96 SPONSORED BY THE WORLD
INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY H MORE THAN EVER
BEFORE IN OUR HISTORY, AMERICA'S
GREATNESS DEPEND ON THE ABILITY OF ALL
OF OUR CITIZEN TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR
OWN LIVES AND THE QUESTION IS HOW

TECHNOLOGY CAN ENHANCE THE PROGRESS WE
HAVE ALREADY MADE.
MY ADMINISTRATION ENVISION AS FUTURE IN
WHICH IT ENHANCE LIBRARY; AND IMEMPOWERS
OUR ECONOMIC ENERGY.
THIS MUST BE PLEX I BELIEVE AND EASY TO
USE IF WE ARE TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS.
UNIVERSAL DESIGN OF OUR NATIONAL
INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE WILL GIVE US
TECHNOLOGY WE WANT WITH THE FLEXIBILITY
WE NEED.
NOT ONLY WILL IT MAKE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY WORK BETTER FOR ALL OF US,
BUT IT WILL ALSO MAKE IT EASIER FOR
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO ACCESS
EXAMPLE USE THE POWERFUL TOOLS OF THE
FUTURE.
IN 1992, I ISSUED A CHALLENGE TO OUR
NATION.
I SAID, WE MUST NOT REST UNTIL AMERICA
HAS A NATIONAL DISABILITY POLICY BASED
ON THE INCLUSION, INDEPENDENCE AND
EMPOWERMENT.
I REMAIN COP COMMITTED TO THAT VISION
AND COMMEND THE ORGANIZERS AND
PARTICIPANTS OF INFORAMPS '96 FOR

WORKING SO HARD TO BRING IT TO REALITY.
BEST WISHES FOR A PRODUCTIVE AND
ENJOYABLE CONFERENCE, SIGNED BILL
CLINTON.
WELL, ANYTHING I SAY WILL PROBABLY BY
ANTI-CLIMAX BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO
IS GIVE YOU A {STNS} NOR WHY THE
ADMINISTRATION THINKS THIS ISSUE IS SO
IMPORTANT AND SOME OF THE STEPS WE HAVE
TAKEN IN THE FIRST THREE AND A HALF
YEARS AND THEN SOME EXPLORE SOME WAYS IN
WHICH WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO CONTINUE
TO MAKE PROGRESS.
WELL, OBVIOUSLY, THE ADMINISTRATION
BELIEVES THAT THE INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE, THESE NEW INFORMATION
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY ARE GOING TO
HAVE A BASIC IMPACT ON VIRTUALLY EVERY
ASPECTS OF OUR SOCIAL LIFE.
WE ESTIMATE THAT BY THE YEAR 2,000, 60%
OF ALL JOB THERE IS REQUIRE COMPUTER
SKILLS.
THE INTERNET WHICH CONNECTED COUPLE OF
THOUSAND ACADEMIC UNIVERSITIES IN
MID-1980S NOW CONNECTS OVER 10 MILLION
COMPUTERS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND IS

DOUBLING IN SIZE EVERY YEAR.
{SNFTION} AND COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRIES
WHICH ACCOUNT FOR 10% OF G D P TODAY
WILL ACCOUNT FOR 20% IN THE NEXT TEN
YEARS.
THE NII IS BEING USED TO SUPPORT
AMPLIFICATIONS SUCH AS MEDICINE AND
CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION, THE
DELIVERY OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION,
VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES AND COMMUNITIES OF
INTEREST, LIFE LONG LEARNING, PUBLIC
SAFETY, TELL COMMUNITY NETWORK, HOME
SHOPPING, NEW INFORMATION SERVICES,
DIGITAL LIBRARYS AND ON LINE MUSEUMS AND
MANY OTHER APPLICATIONS THAT WE HAVE
JUST GUN TO THINK ABOUT.
SO IF WE FAIL TO HAVE UNIVERSAL DESIGN,
OF THE NII, THAT WILL CLEARLY BE -- A
TREMENDOUS BARRIER TO THE FULL
PARTICIPATION OF THE 50 MILLION
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITY AND OUR {SKME}
AND OUR SOCIETY.
AND AS THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID, IN A
COMPETETIVE GLOBAL ECONOMY, OUR COUNTRY
DOES NOT HAVE A SINGLE PERSON TO WASTE,
OPPORTUNITY MUST BE OPEN TO EVERY ONE.

I BELIEVE THAT OUR ENTIRE NATION WILL
SHARE IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
BENEFITS THAT WILL RESULT FROM FULL
PARTICIPATION OF AMERICAN WITH
DISABILITIES IN OUR SOCIETY.
SO, CLEARLY, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE.
I THINK IT IS GOING TO BECOME EVEN MORE
IMPORTANT OVER TIME TO GUARANTEE THE
FULL PARTICIPATION OF SENIORS IN OUR
ECONOMY AND SOCIETY.
BY THE YEAR 2,000, 34 MILLION PEOPLE IN
THE UNITED STATES WILL BE OVER 65.
WORLDWIDE, THAT FIGURE IS EXPECTED TO
GROW TO 419 MILLION.
SO A WELL DESIGNED NII WILL CERTAINLY BY
ABLE TO HELP ACCOMMODATE A WIDER RANGE
OF DIFFERENCES AND ENVISION HEARING AND
MOBILITY.
SO THIS IS A REALLY LARGE MARKET
ALTHOUGH I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO
APPEAL TO COMPANY TO BE GOOD CORPORATE
CITIZENS.
I THINK IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE
CASE THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD FOR
BUSINESS AS WELL AND HELP IMPROVE
COMPETETIVENESS AND MARKET SHARE FOR

FIRMS THAT ARE ABLE TO WORK ON UNIVERSAL
DESIGN ISSUES.
AND HAS BEEN MENTIONED ALREADY,
UNIVERSAL DESIGN OFTEN PROVIDES WIDER
BENEFITS TO SOCIETY.
THE EXAMPLE I LIKE IS THE CLOSE
CAPTIONED DECODERS ARE BEING USED TO
IMPROVE LITERACY BY TEACHING CHILDREN TO
READ, HELPING WITH ENGLISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE.
SO, CLEARLY, IN TELL {GENLTZ} UNIVERSAL
DESIGN CAN PROVIDE A WIDER RANGE OF
BENEFITS TO SOCIETY.
WELL, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONCRETE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION
AND OUR FIRST FLEE AND A HALF YEARS.
THE VICE PRESIDENT CLEARLY HELPED RAISE
THE PROFILES OF THE ISSUE OF THE
NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE EXAMPLE I LIKE TO USE IS THE
PRESIDENT KENNEDY DEALT A BLOW TO THE
HAT INDUSTRY WHEN HE STOPPED WEARING
HATS.
THE SAME WAY THE {SMT} AND VICE
PRESIDENT HELPED RAISE THE LEVEL OF
AWARENESS ABOUT THE INTERNET AND OTHER

TECHNOLOGIES BY BEING FIRST PRESIDENT,
VICE PRESIDENT TO HAVE AN E-MAIL
ADDRESS, THE FIRST OBVIOUSLY, THE FIRST
PEOPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE TO HAVE THEIR
OWN WEB SITE, THAT HAS I THINK CERTAINLY
HELPED ACCELERATE THE AWARENESS AND
ACCEPTANCE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY.
SECOND, WE HAVE THE FORESIGHT TO
APPOINTS DEBORAH KAPLAN TO OUR ADVISORY
COUNCIL.
AND SHE WAS VERY EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE IN
ENSURE {HAING} THE {DERN}S OF AMERICAN
WITH DISABILITIES WERE REFLECTED IN THE
ADVISORY COUNCIL'S PRINCIPLES ON
UNIVERSAL ACCESS AND DESIGN AND EVEN
MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT GAVE DEBORAH AN
OPPORTUNITY TO LOBBY THE MICROSOFT
REPRESENTATIVE ON ISSUES RELATED TO
GRAPHIC USERS OF INTERFACE.
WE DEVELOPED A WHITE PAPER ON THE NII AS
AN INVEST.
IN PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
WE APPOINT OWED READ HUNDT WITH THE
FORMATION OF THE DISABILITY ISSUES TASK
FORCE WHICH HAS HELPED COORDINATE ISSUES
ACROSS THE BUREAU AND HELPED BRING

INDUSTRY AND THE DISABLED COMMUNITY
TOGETHER.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE PRESIDENT SIGN
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL WHICH
INCLUDES SECTION 255 WHICH REQUIRES THE
ACCESS BOARD TO DEVELOP ACCESSIBILITY
GUIDELINES FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS
EQUIPMENT, C P E AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS.
THROUGH PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE T {ISMT}
GRANT PROGRAM AT THE NATIONAL TELL
COMMUNITY {ATION}S ADMINISTRATION, N
IDRR THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND
GROUPS SUCH AS W IT AND THE TRADE
CENTER, W G B H ON PROGRAMS SUCH AS THE
REHABILITATION AND RESEARCH CENTER
{SKPRX} PROJECT INFORMATION CURB CUTS.
I SEEP SUSAN HERE, THE GSA CLEARINGHOUSE
ON COMPUTER ACCOMMODATION HAS BEEN VERY
ACTIVE ON ISSUES SUCH AS ACCESSIBLE
KIOSKS.
SO I THINK THAT WE HAVE A SOLID RECORD
OF ACCOMPLISHMENT BUT OBVIOUSLY, MUCH
MORE REMAINS TO BE DONE TO ENSURE THAT
THE NII IS ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL AMERICANS
AND HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE ANOTHER FOUR

YEARS TO WORK ON IT.
I HOPE THAT AFTER THE CONFERENCE, I HAVE
AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH SOME OF THE
CONFERENCE ORGANIZER TOSS DISCUSS THE
INSIDE AND ITEMS THAT COME OUT OF THE
CONFERENCE.
UNFORUNATELY, THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF NO
LONGER HAS SECRETS BANK ACCOUNTS SO EVEN
IF I WANTED TO, I CAN'T WRITE A CHECK
NOR A {WHORT} WHILE PRO SECRETARY LIE
UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL BUT WE CERTAINLY CAN
ENCOURAGE AGENCIES AND THE PRIVATE
SECTOR TO MAKE THE ISSUE OF UNIVERSAL
DESIGN A PRIORITY.
SO I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH
YOU TO CONTINUE TO MAKE FROM {GRES} ON
THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.