IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1041 

Recognizing and honoring the 50th anniversary of the date of enactment 

of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 7, 2018 

Mr. LANGEVIN (for himself and Mr. HARPER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and honoring the 50th anniversary of the date 

of enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. 

Whereas August 12, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the 

date of enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act of 

1968 (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘ABA’’); 

Whereas the ABA was the first measure passed by Congress 

to require buildings and facilities to be accessible to individuals with physical disabilities and served as an important forerunner to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 

1990; 

Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to craft 

legislation to make Federal buildings accessible to individuals with disabilities; 


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•HRES 1041 IH 

Whereas both Houses of Congress unanimously passed the 

ABA; 

Whereas President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the ABA 

into law on August 12, 1968, with the goal of ending the 

‘‘needless and cruel discrimination’’ inherent in the lack 

of access to Federal buildings for individuals with disabilities; 

Whereas Congress, in 1973, established the Architectural and 

Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the ‘‘Access 

Board’’) to enforce accessibility standards prescribed pursuant to the ABA; 

Whereas the ABA was amended in 1976 to cover the buildings and facilities of the Washington Metropolitan Area 

Transit Authority’s Metrorail System, a valuable resource 

for millions of area residents and tourists; 

Whereas the Access Board issued its most recent Guidelines 

(codified at 36 C.F.R. part 1191) to implement the ABA 

on July 23, 2004, and— 

(1) the United States Postal Service adopted those 

Guidelines as its ABA Accessibility Standards effective 

October 1, 2005; 

(2) the General Services Administration adopted 

those Guidelines as its ABA Accessibility Standards effective May 8, 2006; and 

(3) the Department of Defense adopted those Guidelines as its ABA Accessibility Standards effective October 

31, 2008; 

Whereas, in 2015, there were almost 265,000 career Federal 

employees with disabilities; and 


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•HRES 1041 IH 

Whereas, in 2017, nearly 13 percent of the civilian population 

in the United States reported having a disability: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary 

3 of the date of enactment of the Architectural Bar4 riers Act of 1968; 

5 (2) salutes everyone whose efforts contributed 

6 to the enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act 

7 of 1968; 

8 (3) reaffirms its support of the Architectural 

9 Barriers Act of 1968; 

10 (4) encourages all entities responsible for the 

11 design and construction of Federal and federally 

12 funded buildings and facilities to go beyond the min13 imum requirements of the Architectural Barriers Act 

14 of 1968 and the accessibility standards promulgated 

15 pursuant to it; and 

16 (5) pledges to continue to work to identify and 

17 remove barriers that prevent all people of the United 

18 States from having equal access to buildings and fa19 cilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act of 

20 1968. 

Æ 


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