IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 617 
Recognizing the importance of independent living for individuals with disabil-
ities 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 In-
frastructure, the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and Financial Serv-
ices, 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 individ-
uals with disabilities made possible by the Americans 
with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling for further 
action to strengthen home and community living for indi-
viduals 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 seg-
regate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some im-
provements, such forms of discrimination against individ-
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•HRES 617 IH 
uals with disabilities continue to be a serious and perva-
sive social problem’’; 
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 recog-
nizes the rights of individuals with disabilities to fully 
participate in their communities through independent liv-
ing, equality of opportunity, and economic self-suffi-
ciency; 
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 dispropor-
tionate rates of infection and death during the COVID– 
19 pandemic; 
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities have been dis-
parately affected by the COVID–19 pandemic; 
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience dis-
proportionately greater barriers to high quality and ac-
cessible healthcare, education, and competitive integrated 
employment opportunities, infringing on their right to 
fully participate in their communities under the Ameri-
cans 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 inac-
cessible and inequitable services; 
(2) individuals with disabilities continue to face high 
rates of unemployment and barriers to accessible work-
places; 
(3) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals 
with disabilities live below the poverty line; 
(4) some telecommunication, electronic, and infor-
mation 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 organiza-
tions, transportation systems, and services remain inac-
cessible to many individuals with disabilities; 
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 rep-
resents the floor, and not the ceiling, of efforts needed 
to dismantle barriers to full participation, equal oppor-
tunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency; 
and 
Whereas fulfilling the promise of the Americans with Disabil-
ities Act of 1990 requires individuals, families, commu-
nities, and government to work together to guarantee 
that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to 
thrive in their communities and in their lives: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the importance of independent 
living for individuals with disabilities made possible 
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by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); 
(2) encourages the people of the United States 
to celebrate the advancement of inclusion and equal-
ity of opportunity made possible by the enactment of 
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; 
(3) pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan 
basis to identify and address the remaining barriers 
that undermine the national goals of equality of op-
portunity, independent living, economic self-suffi-
ciency, and full participation for individuals with dis-
abilities, including by focusing on individuals with 
disabilities who remain segregated in institutions; 
(4) pledges to work with States to improve ac-
cess to home- and community-based services for in-
dividuals with disabilities; 
(5) calls on the Department of Labor to develop 
policies and practices and provide technical assist-
ance that enable individuals with disabilities to be-
come economically self-sufficient; 
(6) calls on the Federal Communications Com-
mission to provide information, resources, and tech-
nical assistance to enable individuals with disabilities 
to have full and equitable access to communications 
and telecommunications services and technologies; 
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(7) calls on the Department of Health and 
Human Services to provide information, resources, 
and technical assistance related to home- and com-
munity-based services and to enable individuals with 
disabilities to live independently; 
(8) calls on the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development to provide accessible and inclu-
sive homes and communities that increase the op-
tions available for accessible, inclusive, and equitable 
housing for individuals with disabilities; and 
(9) calls on the Department of Transportation 
to create accessible transit and airports and increase 
the hiring, promotion, and retention of individuals 
with disabilities in the transportation workforce. 
Æ 
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