III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 772 

Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency 

for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling for further action to strengthen 

and expand opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate 

in work and community life. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. KAINE, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PADILLA, 

Mr. REED, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. STABENOW, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. BUTLER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. COONS, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. KING, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. WARNOCK, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. BENNET) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities 

made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act 

of 1990 and calling for further action to strengthen 

and expand opportunities for individuals with disabilities 

to participate in work and community life. 

Whereas, in enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

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


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•SRES 772 IS 

that ‘‘historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individuals 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, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 25 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), individuals with disabilities are faced with systemic ableism in the labor market, are pushed into poverty by lower rates of employment, and have higher costs 

of living associated with their disabilities; 

Whereas, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990— 

(1) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals 

with disabilities live below the poverty line; 

(2) individuals with disabilities continue to face high 

rates of unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces; 

(3) women with disabilities continue to regularly 

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

(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 


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•SRES 772 IS 

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

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, especially those of color, 

have been disparately impacted by the lingering effects of 

the COVID–19 pandemic, and the number of individuals 

with disabilities has increased due to Long COVID; 

Whereas individuals with disabilities are more at risk for loss 

of life, loss of independence, or violation of civil rights 

than the general population during disaster, response, 

and recovery; 

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

integrated employment opportunities, infringing on their 

right to fully participate in their communities under the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 

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 


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•SRES 772 IS 

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

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the importance of independent 

3 living, equal opportunity, full participation, and eco4 nomic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities 

5 made possible by the enactment of the Americans 

6 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 

7 seq.); 

8 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

9 to celebrate the advancement of inclusion and equal10 ity of opportunity made possible by the enactment of 

11 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 

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

13 basis to identify and address the remaining barriers 

14 that undermine the national goals of equality of op15 portunity, independent living, economic self-suffi16 ciency, and full participation for individuals with dis17 abilities, including by focusing on individuals with 

18 disabilities who remain segregated in institutions; 

19 (4) pledges to work with States to improve ac20 cess to home- and community-based services for in21 dividuals with disabilities, with a focus on increasing 

22 access to employment; 

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

24 policies and practices and to provide technical assistVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 Jul 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR772.IS SR772

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1 ance that enables individuals with disabilities to be2 come economically self-sufficient; 

3 (6) calls on the Office of Disability Employment 

4 Policy of the Department of Labor to coordinate 

5 with employers and all levels of government to de6 velop and influence policies and practices that in7 crease the number and quality of employment oppor8 tunities for individuals with disabilities; 

9 (7) calls on the Federal Communications Com10 mission to provide information, resources, and tech11 nical assistance to enable individuals with disabilities 

12 to have full and equitable access to communications 

13 and telecommunications services and technologies; 

14 (8) calls on the Department of Health and 

15 Human Services to provide information, resources, 

16 and technical assistance related to home- and com17 munity-based services and to enable individuals with 

18 disabilities to live independently; 

19 (9) calls on the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development to provide accessible and inclu21 sive homes and communities that increase the op22 tions available for accessible, inclusive, and equitable 

23 housing for individuals with disabilities; 

24 (10) calls on the Department of Transportation 

25 to create accessible transit and airports and increase 


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1 the hiring, promotion, and retention of individuals 

2 with disabilities in the transportation workforce; and 

3 (11) calls on the Federal Emergency Manage4 ment Agency to continue to implement a whole com5 munity approach and to increase inclusivity and ac6 cessibility in emergency preparedness. 

Æ 


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