Congress is moving toward giving money to a program to train more realtime writers to work as court reporters and captioners for newscasts and other television programs. A court reporters lobbying group says only half the number are being educated each year that are needed in the workforce. The grant is part of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, also known as the Higher Education Reauthorization bill. The House passed it recently while the Senate had already passed its version of the Higher Education Reauthorization bill with similar language. A conference committee made up of member of both houses of Congress will decide whether to put it in the final version that goes to President Bush for his approval. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the need for realtime court reporters will increase by a quarter in the next decade. At the same time, there are about 8,000 fewer court reporters than 10 years ago.
