Legislation

The Training for Realtime Writers Act:

The Training for Realtime Writers Act, H.R. 1687 and S.675, is legislation which would create a temporary competitive grant program. Court reporting schools across the country could apply for these grants in order to further their realtime writing and captioning programs. The funds would be used for recruitment, scholarships, advertisement, equipment upgrades, curricula development, and distance learning programs.

The need for captioners is real. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 mandated that by 2006, all new English broadcasts be captioned. Unfortunately, that deadline has come and gone, and still the requisite hours of captioning are not being met. Captions are an integral component of not only the 30 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans, but all people who utilize them in a gym, restaurant, business or airport setting. However, the hearing impaired community relies on captions especially in times of emergency and crisis. It is the right of all Americans, regardless of hearing ability, to have equal access to information and communication.

Higher Education Reauthorization:

The College Opportunity and Affordability Act (H.R. 4137), better known as the Higher Education Reauthorization bill, is an important step towards increasing America’s commitment to higher education. Included in this bill is language similar to that of the Training for Realtime Writers Act. Upon becoming law, grants would be available for application to further realtime writing and captioning programs nationwide. At this point, the House of Representatives has passed H.R. 4137.

The Senate has also passed a similar version to H.R. 4137. S. 1642 is the Senate’s version of the Higher Education Reauthorization bill. Because the House and Senate bills differ slightly (the realtime writing language is not included in the Senate bill), groups of Members of Congress and Senators will meet in conference to come together and create a finalized bill to send to the President for his signature.

Small Business Health Plans:

Small Business Health Plans (SBHP) aim to reduce the cost of health insurance for small businesses from coast to coast. NCRA is a member of a coalition comprised of other trade associations which champions the use of banding together to increase the pool of healthcare users. This would, in turn, reduce the cost for small businesses nationwide, driving down the cost of business. However, due to presidential politics, there has been no movement in Congress on this initiative. That being said, it is important to continue to push the issue and educate Members of Congress.

Independent Contractors:

This is one that NCRA has been observing for some time. NCRA has joined in a coalition with the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and the Small Business Legislative Council. This coalition opposes S.2044, the “Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act,” which was introduced by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill). Instead of clarifying the existing situation, the coalition believes that S. 2044 will muddy the water. Currently, the IRS is working on a program which would partner 26 states in an attempt to find employee misclassification. As of right now, the coalition is working to educate Members of Congress on how the 20 different points of classification is confusing and trying to make the definition clearer and more readily understandable. These 20 points for determining who is an employee and who is an independent contractor have been sticking points for some small reporting firms. At the end of the day, the more confusing the rules are, the easier it is to abuse them.

Coalition Supporting Equity for Our Nation’s Self-Employed:

The Coalition is supporting H.R. 3660 and S. 2239, the “Equity for Our Nation’s Self-Employed Act of 2007.” This bill would amend the law to allow self-employed individuals to deduct health insurance costs in calculating the tax on self-employment income. This is currently an option for larger corporations. H.R. 3660 was introduced by Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Wally Herger (R-Calif.) and is currently in the House Committee on Ways and Means. The Coalition that NCRA is a member of will be meeting with the Ways and Means Committee in the near future to discuss next steps. S. 2230 is currently in the Senate Finance Committee and was introduced by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). The Chairman of the Finance Committee is looking at creating a larger bill which will hopefully include similar language to this. The Coalition will be monitoring these two bills in Congress in the coming months. If passed, this bill would make quality healthcare more affordable to many court reporters who currently cannot use this cost as a deduction.