Mr. Douglas Hartman
Research and Policy Analyst
Chairman Bob Casey
U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging
G-16 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Chairman Casey, Ranking Member Braun, and members of the committee, we appreciate the opportunity to share with you our thoughts on the recent hearing “Unlocking the Virtual Front Door: Ensuring Accessible Government Technology for People with Disabilities, Older Adults, and Veterans.” ITIF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank whose mission is to formulate and promote public policies to advance technological innovation and productivity. In this statement, we are highlighting an important point on the topic of accessibility in federal technology that we believe was missed in last Thursday’s hearing, namely federal agencies’ continued noncompliance with the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA).

Many federal websites do not comply with Section 508 requirements, meaning that a particular subset of vulnerable users who rely on government programs like unemployment insurance and Medicare face undue challenges when trying to access federal digital services. As the committee is aware, Congress amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in 1998 to require federal agencies to develop, procure, maintain, and use electronic and information technology (EIT) that is accessible to people with disabilities. And yet, according to the Federal IT Dashboard, only 31 percent of federal websites have “no detectable accessibility issues”—meaning that the majority of federal websites have one or more problems that prevent the website from being accessible.[1] Furthermore, a recent report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that Section 508 program maturity is largely stagnant, with only six agencies meeting acceptable levels of maturity according to five metrics focusing on IT acquisition, IT lifecycle, testing, complaints processing, and training.[2] In short, the federal government is currently failing to ensure its technology is accessible for people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans.

Congress passed 21st Century IDEA to improve executive agency digital services, including modernizing websites to be accessible to individuals with disabilities per Section 508.[3] Specifically, the law requires agencies to comply with the website standards of the Technology Transformation Services of the General Services Administration.[4] These standards, called the U.S. Web Design System (USWDS), incorporate the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the international guidelines for making web content more accessible that is now in version 2.1.[5]

Essentially, by complying with 21st Century IDEA, agencies are also complying with WCAG requirements and thus greatly improving overall accessibility in their digital services. 21st Century IDEA also focuses on standardization and consistency in government websites, including in searchability and content, which produces better user experiences for everyone. In fact, 21st Century IDEA is based on inclusive design principles, effectively elevating user experience and accessibility to the same level as security.[6] 

Fortunately, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finally released guidance last Friday for agencies to deliver on the implementation of 21st Century IDEA.[7] Such guidance was not only a critical missing piece in progressing implementation of the law, but it also greatly prioritizes accessibility by emphasizing the inclusion of people with disabilities during usability testing and conducting inclusive research. As witness Ronza Othman, President of the National Association of Blind Government Employees, explained during last week’s hearing, people with disabilities have been historically excluded from the development of government technologies. As ITIF has found in its past research on the accessibility of state government websites, “states that performed the best on accessibility engaged directly with people with disabilities to test and provide feedback on their sites.”[8] OMB’s guidance for 21st Century IDEA rightly includes this population as a partner.[9]

Finally, ITIF has previously recommended other actions to support improvements in federal website accessibility, including evolving section508.gov from a passive information hub to a fully-fledged federal accessibility lab and developing well-resourced agency-level 508 offices that will continue to drive the accessibility components of 21st Century IDEA and OMB guidance.[10] Importantly, these offices should provide a clear point of contact regarding user accessibility issues and complaints for both citizens and federal employees.

In conclusion, we appreciate the opportunity to provide our insights on accessibility in government technology. While the committee members and witnesses made many good points on this topic, we believe compliance with 21st Century IDEA is a critical component in improving the widespread adoption and accessibility of federal digital services. Now with guidance from OMB and support from this committee, agencies should immediately prioritize implementing the law and making needed improvements to technology accessibility to ensure federal digital services are accessible to all.

Eric Egan

Policy Fellow

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

Endnotes