November 2, 2000

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Re: Docket No. 99-339

“IN OPPOSITION TO PETITIONERS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTED ORDER ON VIDEO DESCRIPTION”

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization exclusively dedicated to serving the needs of our nation’s blinded veterans, wishes to commend the Federal Communication Commission for their courageous act in mandating video description for the visually impaired.  

BVA opposes a petition to reconsider.  The issues raised by network and cable operators are items in which a reasonable comprise may be reached.  Other entities are concerned that priority in video description is given to entertainment instead of health and safety issues.  This simply is not true.  The technology now exists for video description of entertainment programs on television.  BVA strongly supports efforts to find ways to alert visually impaired viewers of emergency situations.  There is no reason to wait for the development of this informational technology, before implementation of video description.

Once again we commend the FCC for it’s strong advocacy for all visually impaired.  We urge you to uphold the landmark decision regarding video description.

Sincerely,