IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 617 

Recognizing the importance of independent living for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

and calling for further action to strengthen home and community living 

for individuals with disabilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 26, 2023 

Mr. FITZPATRICK (for himself and Mrs. DINGELL) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of independent living for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans 

with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling for further 

action to strengthen home and community living for individuals with disabilities. 

Whereas, in enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), Congress recognized 

that ‘‘historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jul 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR617.IH HR617

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•HRES 617 IH 

uals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive social problem’’; 

Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 recognizes the rights of individuals with disabilities to fully 

participate in their communities through independent living, equality of opportunity, and economic self-sufficiency; 

Whereas, 33 years after the date of the enactment of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 24 years 

after the date of the decision of the Supreme Court of 

the United States in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 

(1999), many individuals with disabilities continue to live 

in segregated institutional settings because of a lack of 

support services in their communities; 

Whereas the continuation of segregated institutional settings 

has hindered the inclusion of individuals with disabilities 

in communities, schools, and workplaces, undermining 

the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

1990; 

Whereas individuals with disabilities living in institutional 

and long-term care settings have endured disproportionate rates of infection and death during the COVID– 

19 pandemic; 

Whereas individuals of color with disabilities have been disparately affected by the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience disproportionately greater barriers to high quality and accessible healthcare, education, and competitive integrated 

employment opportunities, infringing on their right to 

fully participate in their communities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 


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•HRES 617 IH 

Whereas, 33 years after the date of the enactment of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990— 

(1) women with disabilities continue to regularly 

face barriers to reproductive healthcare, including inaccessible and inequitable services; 

(2) individuals with disabilities continue to face high 

rates of unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces; 

(3) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals 

with disabilities live below the poverty line; 

(4) some telecommunication, electronic, and information technologies continue to be developed without the 

goal of making those technologies fully accessible for all 

individuals of the United States; and 

(5) many businesses, public and private organizations, transportation systems, and services remain inaccessible to many individuals with disabilities; 

Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 represents the floor, and not the ceiling, of efforts needed 

to dismantle barriers to full participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency; 

and 

Whereas fulfilling the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires individuals, families, communities, and government to work together to guarantee 

that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to 

thrive in their communities and in their lives: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes the importance of independent 

3 living for individuals with disabilities made possible 


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•HRES 617 IH 

1 by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities 

2 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 

3 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

4 to celebrate the advancement of inclusion and equal5 ity of opportunity made possible by the enactment of 

6 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 

7 (3) pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan 

8 basis to identify and address the remaining barriers 

9 that undermine the national goals of equality of op10 portunity, independent living, economic self-suffi11 ciency, and full participation for individuals with dis12 abilities, including by focusing on individuals with 

13 disabilities who remain segregated in institutions; 

14 (4) pledges to work with States to improve ac15 cess to home- and community-based services for in16 dividuals with disabilities; 

17 (5) calls on the Department of Labor to develop 

18 policies and practices and provide technical assist19 ance that enable individuals with disabilities to be20 come economically self-sufficient; 

21 (6) calls on the Federal Communications Com22 mission to provide information, resources, and tech23 nical assistance to enable individuals with disabilities 

24 to have full and equitable access to communications 

25 and telecommunications services and technologies; 


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1 (7) calls on the Department of Health and 

2 Human Services to provide information, resources, 

3 and technical assistance related to home- and com4 munity-based services and to enable individuals with 

5 disabilities to live independently; 

6 (8) calls on the Department of Housing and 

7 Urban Development to provide accessible and inclu8 sive homes and communities that increase the op9 tions available for accessible, inclusive, and equitable 

10 housing for individuals with disabilities; and 

11 (9) calls on the Department of Transportation 

12 to create accessible transit and airports and increase 

13 the hiring, promotion, and retention of individuals 

14 with disabilities in the transportation workforce. 

Æ 


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