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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 591 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 591

 Recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the 
                Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 21, 2010

 Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Reid, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Cardin, 
  Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Lautenberg, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Casey, Mr. 
    Specter, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Leahy, Mr. 
 Bingaman, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Burris, Mrs. 
  Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. 
 Dorgan, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Franken, Mr. Enzi, 
Ms. Snowe, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Mr. Levin, Mr. Thune, 
and Ms. Collins) submitted the following resolution; which was ordered 
                      to be placed on the calendar

                             July 22, 2010

                        Considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the 
                Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Whereas July 26, 2010, marks the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act has been one of the most significant 
        and effective civil rights laws passed by Congress;
Whereas, prior to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people 
        with disabilities faced significantly lower employment rates, lower 
        graduation rates, and higher rates of poverty than people without 
        disabilities, and were too often denied the opportunity to fully 
        participate in society due to intolerance and unfair stereotypes;
Whereas the dedicated efforts of disability rights advocates, including Justin 
        Dart, Jr., and many others, served to awaken Congress and the American 
        people to the discrimination and prejudice faced by individuals with 
        disabilities;
Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to craft legislation making such 
        discrimination illegal;
Whereas Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act and President George 
        Herbert Walker Bush signed the Act into law on July 26, 1990;
Whereas the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to fulfill the 
        Nation's goals of equality of opportunity, independent living, economic 
        self-sufficiency, and full participation for Americans with 
        disabilities;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from 
        discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities, requires 
        that State and local governmental entities accommodate qualified 
        individuals with disabilities, requires places of public accommodation 
        to take reasonable steps to make their goods and services accessible to 
        individuals with disabilities, and requires that new trains and buses be 
        accessible to individuals with disabilities;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act has played an historic role in 
        allowing over 50,000,000 Americans with disabilities to participate more 
        fully in national life by removing barriers to employment, 
        transportation, public services, telecommunications, and public 
        accommodations;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act has served as a model for disability 
        rights in other countries;
Whereas all Americans, not just those with disabilities, benefit from the 
        accommodations that have become commonplace since the passage of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act, including curb cuts at street 
        intersections, ramps for access to buildings, and other accommodations 
        that provide access to public transportation, stadiums, 
        telecommunications, voting machines, and websites;
Whereas Congress acted with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2008 to restore 
        protections for people with disabilities by passing the ADA Amendments 
        Act of 2008, which overturned judicial decisions that had 
        inappropriately narrowed the scope of theAmericans with Disabilities 
        Act;
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
        children and adults with disabilities continue to experience barriers 
        that interfere with their full participation in mainstream American 
        life;
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
        people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as their 
        fellow citizens and continue to experience high rates of unemployment 
        and underemployment;
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 
        11 years after the Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead v. L.C., many 
        people with disabilities still live in segregated institutional settings 
        because of a lack of support services that would allow them to live in 
        the community;
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
        new telecommunication, electronic, and information technologies continue 
        to be developed while not being accessible to all Americans;
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 
        many public and private covered entities are still not accessible to 
        people with disabilities; and
Whereas the United States has a responsibility to welcome back and create 
        opportunities for the tens of thousands of working-age veterans of the 
        Armed Forces who have been wounded in action or have received service-
        connected injuries while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and 
        Operation Enduring Freedom: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes and honors the 20th anniversary of the 
        enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
            (2) salutes all people whose efforts contributed to the 
        enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
            (3) encourages all Americans to celebrate the advance of 
        freedom and the opening of opportunity made possible by the 
        enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and
            (4) pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to 
        identify and address the remaining barriers that undermine the 
        Nation's goals of equality of opportunity, independent living, 
        economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for Americans 
        with disabilities.
                                 <all>
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