•HRES 1504 EH 
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 par-
ticipation for Americans with disabilities; 
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits em-
ployers from discriminating against qualified individuals 
with disabilities, requires that State and local govern-
mental 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 re-
moving 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, ben-
efit from the accommodations that have become common-
place since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, including curb cuts at street intersections, ramps for 
access to buildings, and other accommodations that pro-
vide access to public transportation, stadiums, tele-
communications, voting machines, and websites; 
Whereas Congress acted with overwhelming bipartisan sup-
port in 2008 to restore protections for people with dis-
abilities by passing the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, 
which overturned judicial decisions that had inappropri-
•HRES 1504 EH 
ately narrowed the scope of the protected class under the 
Americans with Disabilities Act; 
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, children and adults with disabilities con-
tinue 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 underemploy-
ment; 
Whereas, 20 years after the enactment of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, the largest income support and health 
care programs continue to operate in a manner that ex-
pects people with significant disabilities to be outside the 
economic mainstream and have limited income and as-
sets; 
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 disabil-
ities 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
•HRES 1504 EH 
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-con-
nected injuries while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom 
and Operation Enduring Freedom: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(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 ad-
vance of freedom and the opening of opportunity made 
possible by the enactment of the Americans with Disabil-
ities 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. 
Attest: 
Clerk.