III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 348 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 9, 2021 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. REED, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MARKEY, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. CANTWELL, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. 

KING, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

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 02:30 Aug 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR348.ATS SR348

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•SRES 348 ATS 

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

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

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

Whereas, 31 years after the enactment of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 and 22 years after 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; 

Whereas continued instances of segregated institutional settings have hindered the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in communities, schools, and workplaces, undermining the promise of the Americans with Disabilities 

Act of 1990; 

Whereas people with disabilities living in institutional and 

long-term care settings suffered disproportionate rates of 

infection and death during the COVID–19 pandemic, 

with data showing 60 percent of COVID–19 deaths involved a person with a disability; 

Whereas people of color with disabilities experience disproportionately greater barriers to quality, accessible health 

care, education, and employment opportunities, infringing 

on the right of such people under the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990 to full participation in their communities; 

Whereas, 31 years after the enactment of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990, people with disabilities continue 


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•SRES 348 ATS 

to face higher rates of unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces and access to competitive integrated 

employment opportunities. 

Whereas, 31 years after the enactment of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990, some telecommunication, electronic, and information technologies continue to be developed without the goal of full accessibility and inclusion 

for all people of the United States; and 

Whereas, 31 years after the enactment of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act of 1990, many businesses, public and private organizations, transportation systems, and services 

are still not accessible to all individuals with disabilities: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the importance of independent 

3 living for individuals with disabilities made possible 

4 by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities 

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

6 (2) encourages all people of the United States 

7 to celebrate the advancement of inclusion and equal8 ity of opportunity made possible by the enactment of 

9 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 

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

11 basis to identify and address the remaining barriers 

12 that undermine the national goals of equality of op13 portunity, independent living, economic self-suffi14 ciency, and full participation for individuals with disVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR348.ATS SR348

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•SRES 348 ATS 

1 abilities, including by focusing on individuals with 

2 disabilities that remain segregated in institutions; 

3 (4) pledges to work with States to improve ac4 cess to home- and community-based services for in5 dividuals with disabilities; 

6 (5) calls on the Department of Labor to provide 

7 information, resources, and technical assistance that 

8 enable individuals with disabilities to achieve eco9 nomic self-sufficiency; and 

10 (6) calls on the Department of Health and 

11 Human Services to provide information, resources, 

12 and technical assistance regarding home- and com13 munity-based services and supports that enable indi14 viduals with disabilities to live independently. 

Æ 


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