Recognizing 20th Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 1504, recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Heralded at its signing in 1990 as an ``emancipation proclamation for people with disabilities,'' the goals of the ADA are lofty and embody core principles that have made this nation great--equality of opportunity, independence, and integration.

Through broad non-discrimination directives aimed at employers, government entities, and places of public accommodation--and requirements of reasonable accommodation and modification that are designed to dismantle architectural and societal barriers--the ADA has transformed our world.

Some of those changes are visible--lifts on buses, elevators in subway stations, power-assisted and wider doors, designated parking spots, curb cuts, and closed-captioning. Others are not so visible, but are powerfully important nonetheless.

These less-visible changes--the slow breakdown of disabling stereotypes, myths, prejudice, and stigma--are also happening because of the increased access and opportunity made possible by the ADA. As we witness and benefit from the contributions of family members, colleagues, and neighbors with disabilities, outdated and misguided beliefs are challenged and changed.

While we still have a long way to go, our passage of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 is yet another mark of our progress on this front. Through the ADA Amendments Act, we responded to the Supreme Court's unduly narrow interpretation of the definition of ``disability'' and reaffirmed our commitment to focusing on abilities--the ability to do a job, to participate in programs, services, or activities, or to thrive in a community-based setting--rather than the severity of our limitations.

Our collaboration on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which was passed by an overwhelming majority of the House, illustrates an enduring bipartisan commitment to achieving the full civil rights for Americans with disabilities.

Thus, as House Resolution 1504 recognizes, we have much to celebrate on this twentieth anniversary of the ADA's enactment. Yet as it also reminds us, we have not reached the finish line, and much work remains.

We must continue working to end the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities. Just last week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, which I chair, heard testimony from Casandra Cox as part of our hearing to commemorate the ADA's twentieth anniversary. Ms. Cox was placed in an adult home following a short hospitalization. Despite her requests for assistance in finding an appropriate community-based placement, Ms. Cox remained in that home for nearly three years until she was able--through persistence and good luck in being selected for a state pilot program--to find a community-based placement where she has thrived.

The ADA's promise of integration and independence should not depend on persistence or on luck.

More than 10 years ago, in Olmstead v. L. C., the Supreme Court declared that unnecessary institutionalization violates the ADA and that the states must ensure that individuals receive services in the least restrictive setting possible. Yet thousands of individuals who can and should receive services in community-based settings remain warehoused in large institutions.

This remains true despite the fact that former residents are thriving in supportive settings at costs that are lower than, or equal to, the costs of institutional care.

Work to make public transit systems and brick and mortar structures accessible also remains unfinished. Twenty years after the ADA required readily achievable changes to existing structures and set out standards for new buildings, many brick and mortar facilities remain inaccessible. And while we have made great strides in our public transit systems, significant gaps and ongoing problems remain. Continued non-compliance with Titles II and III of the ADA is inexcusable. While we should continue to pursue proposals that promote voluntary compliance, like the Department of Justice's Project Civic Access, we should rightly reject measures--like the ADA Notification Act--that threaten the ADA's promise of access and integration.

Even as we press forward to ensure greater access to physical places, and programs and services, we cannot lose sight of the need to ensure that evolving technologies are also accessible. In the twenty years since the ADA's passage, technology has revolutionized the way we work, learn, shop, and socialize. While these advances ultimately may offer individuals with disabilities unprecedented access and opportunities, we have yet to see that full potential realized.

During a hearing in April focusing on access to emerging technology as a civil rights issue under the ADA held by my Subcommittee, we urged the Department of Justice to issue regulations and additional guidance to achieve greater compliance with the ADA's equal access obligations with regard to the internet and other evolving technologies. Immediately following the Constitution Subcommittee's ADA Anniversary hearing last week, where we once again pressed the Department of Justice to issue clarifying regulations, the Department issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking regarding website accessibility. This is welcome news and will ensure that individuals with disabilities are not left behind as greater numbers of businesses, schools, and public entities rely upon this technology to communicate and to provide goods and services to the public.

As we continue working on these and other challenges that lie ahead, I urge you to join me in celebrating the progress that we have achieved--and in affirming our enduring and bipartisan commitment to achieving the ADA's full promise--by voting for passage of House Resolution 1504.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source