Cliff Stearns: “I think it's a good example of what Apple has done with the iPad and how they voluntarily went about to help the people…”

“I think it's a good example of what Apple has done with the iPad and how they voluntarily went about to help the people who are impaired by sight and hearing. They took the necessary steps to make certain that their product and their applications are acceptable to all people. For example, when you look at the iPad, all of us think it's sort of, in a way, revolutionary. It gives you, at a touch of the fingers, an opportunity to go through and look at newspapers and magazines, to go on the Internet, to check your email effortlessly. It's sort of using technology that's breakthrough. Is it possible that this breakthrough technology could help people who are disabled? Absolutely. For example, Mr. Speaker, the iPad comes with a screen reader, support for playback of the closed caption content, and other innovative universal access features. This was done right out of the box. Apple did this voluntarily. These features make iPad easier to use for people who have vision impairment, are deaf or hard of hearing, or if they have a physical or learning disability. In addition, the iPad includes VoiceOver, a gesture-based screen reader for the blind.”