IB 
Union Calendar No. 465 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3195 
[Report No. 110–730, Parts I and II] 
To restore the intent and protections of the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2007 
Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ALLEN, 
Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BACHUS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BILBRAY, 
Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BOS-
WELL, Mr. BOUCHER, Ms. CORRINE
BROWN
of Florida, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. CHAN-
DLER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COHEN, 
Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COSTA, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DINGELL, 
Mr. DREIER, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. EMANUEL, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. ENGEL, 
Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. FARR, Mr. FER-
GUSON, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FRANKS of Ari-
zona, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. GALLEGLY, Ms. GIFFORDS, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. 
HINOJOSA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. ISSA, 
Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. 
KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KIND, Mr. 
KING of New York, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. 
LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LEWIS 
of California, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mrs. 
LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MATHESON, Ms. 
MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, 
Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. 
MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 
MORAN of Virginia, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. NAD-
LER, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. NUNES, Mr. OBER-
STAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. PETRI, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. 
RAMSTAD, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. ROTHMAN, 
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Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, 
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. SPACE, Mr. 
STARK, Ms. SUTTON, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. 
TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. VISCLOSKY, 
Mr. WALSH of New York, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, Mr. 
WAXMAN, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Ms. WOOL-
SEY, Mr. WYNN, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. 
WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. MCCOTTER, and Mr. DICKS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure, and Energy and Commerce, 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 con-
cerned 
JUNE 23, 2008 
Reported from the Committee on Education and Labor with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
JUNE 23, 2008 
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in boldface roman] 
JUNE 23, 2008 
Additional sponsors: Mr. BONNER, Mr. SESTAK, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 
Mr. HARE, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. EDWARDS, 
Ms. LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Flor-
ida, Mr. OLVER, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. GENE 
GREEN
of Texas, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. 
KUCINICH, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. SERRANO, 
Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. 
MICHAUD, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Ms. CARSON, Mr. 
WU, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. 
REYES, Mr. HODES, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Ms. HOOLEY, Mr. 
PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. GORDON of 
Tennessee, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. BACA, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. HILL, Mr. CROW-
LEY, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. ARCURI, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. WILSON of Ohio, Mr. SPRATT, Mr. LINCOLN 
DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, 
Ms. WATERS, Mr. ELLSWORTH, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. 
WEXLER, Ms. LEE, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. CLARKE, 
Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. ROSS, 
Ms. ESHOO, Ms. CASTOR, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. WEINER, 
Mr. PALLONE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 
Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, 
Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee, Ms. ROS- 
LEHTINEN, Ms. HIRONO, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. 
LOBIONDO, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. 
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MCNERNEY, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. PORTER, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. CAPUANO, 
Mr. GERLACH, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. FORTUN˜O, 
Ms. TSONGAS, Mrs. DRAKE, Mr. BLUNT, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. HIGGINS, 
Mr. WELLER of Illinois, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. CARSON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 
SESSIONS, Mr. LAMPSON, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND 
JUNE 23, 2008 
Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce 
discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 
of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 26, 2007] 
A BILL 
To restore the intent and protections of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ADA Amendments Act 
of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) in enacting the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990 (ADA), Congress intended that the Act 
‘‘provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate 
for the elimination of discrimination against individ-
uals with disabilities’’ and provide broad coverage; 
(2) in enacting the ADA, Congress recognized 
that physical and mental disabilities in no way di-
minish a person’s right to fully participate in all as-
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pects of society, but that people with physical or men-
tal disabilities are frequently precluded from doing so 
because of prejudice, antiquated attitudes, or the fail-
ure to remove societal and institutional barriers; 
(3) while Congress expected that the definition of 
disability under the ADA would be interpreted con-
sistently with how courts had applied the definition 
of handicap under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 
that expectation has not been fulfilled; 
(4) the holdings of the Supreme Court in Sutton 
v. United Airlines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999) and its 
companion cases, and in Toyota Motor Manufac-
turing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 
(2002) have narrowed the broad scope of protection 
intended to be afforded by the ADA, thus eliminating 
protection for many individuals whom Congress in-
tended to protect; and 
(5) as a result of these Supreme Court cases, 
lower courts have incorrectly found in individual 
cases that people with a range of substantially lim-
iting impairments are not people with disabilities. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to carry out the ADA’s objectives of pro-
viding ‘‘a clear and comprehensive national mandate 
for the elimination of discrimination’’ and ‘‘clear, 
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strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing 
discrimination’’ by reinstating a broad scope of pro-
tection to be available under the ADA; 
(2) to reject the requirement enunciated by the 
Supreme Court in Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., 
527 U.S. 471 (1999) and its companion cases that 
whether an impairment substantially limits a major 
life activity is to be determined with reference to the 
ameliorative effects of mitigating measures; 
(3) to reject the Supreme Court’s reasoning in 
Sutton v. United Airlines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999) 
with regard to coverage under the third prong of the 
definition of disability and to reinstate the reasoning 
of the Supreme Court in School Board of Nassau 
County v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987) which set forth 
a broad view of the third prong of the definition of 
handicap under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; 
(4) to reject the standards enunciated by the Su-
preme Court in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Ken-
tucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002), that the 
terms ‘‘substantially’’ and ‘‘major’’ in the definition 
of disability under the ADA ‘‘need to be interpreted 
strictly to create a demanding standard for quali-
fying as disabled,’’ and that to be substantially lim-
ited in performing a major life activity under the 
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ADA ‘‘an individual must have an impairment that 
prevents or severely restricts the individual from 
doing activities that are of central importance to most 
people’s daily lives’’; and 
(5) to provide a new definition of ‘‘substantially 
limits’’ to indicate that Congress intends to depart 
from the strict and demanding standard applied by 
the Supreme Court in Toyota Motor Manufacturing, 
Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams and by numerous lower 
courts. 
SEC. 3. CODIFIED FINDINGS. 
Section 2(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(1) physical or mental disabilities in no way 
diminish a person’s right to fully participate in all 
aspects of society, yet many people with physical or 
mental disabilities have been precluded from doing so 
because of discrimination; others who have a record of 
a disability or are regarded as having a disability 
also have been subjected to discrimination;’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (7). 
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SEC. 4. DISABILITY DEFINED AND RULES OF CONSTRUC-
TION. 
(a) DEFINITION
OF DISABILITY.—Section 3 of the 
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF DISABILITY. 
‘‘As used in this Act: 
‘‘(1) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ means, 
with respect to an individual— 
‘‘(A) a physical or mental impairment that 
substantially limits one or more major life ac-
tivities of such individual; 
‘‘(B) a record of such an impairment; or 
‘‘(C) being regarded as having such an im-
pairment (as described in paragraph (4)). 
‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIALLY
LIMITS.—The term ‘sub-
stantially limits’ means materially restricts. 
‘‘(3) MAJOR LIFE ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1), major life activities include, but are 
not limited to, caring for oneself, performing 
manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, 
walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, 
breathing, 
learning, 
reading, 
concentrating, 
thinking, communicating and working. 
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‘‘(B) MAJOR BODILY FUNCTIONS.—For pur-
poses of paragraph (1), a major life activity also 
includes the operation of a major bodily func-
tion, including but not limited to, functions of 
the immune system, normal cell growth, diges-
tive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, res-
piratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproduc-
tive functions. 
‘‘(4) REGARDED AS HAVING SUCH AN IMPAIR-
MENT.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(C): 
‘‘(A) An individual meets the requirement 
of ‘being regarded as having such an impair-
ment’ if the individual establishes that he or she 
has been subjected to an action prohibited under 
this Act because of an actual or perceived phys-
ical or mental impairment whether or not the 
impairment limits or is perceived to limit a 
major life activity. 
‘‘(B) Paragraph (1)(C) shall not apply to 
impairments that are transitory and minor. A 
transitory impairment is an impairment with 
an actual or expected duration of 6 months or 
less. 
‘‘(5) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING THE 
DEFINITION OF DISABILITY.—The definition of ‘dis-
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ability’ in paragraph (1) shall be construed in ac-
cordance with the following: 
‘‘(A) To achieve the remedial purposes of 
this Act, the definition of ‘disability’ in para-
graph (1) shall be construed broadly. 
‘‘(B) An impairment that substantially lim-
its one major life activity need not limit other 
major life activities in order to be considered a 
disability. 
‘‘(C) An impairment that is episodic or in 
remission is a disability if it would substantially 
limit a major life activity when active. 
‘‘(D)(i) The determination of whether an 
impairment substantially limits a major life ac-
tivity shall be made without regard to the ame-
liorative effects of mitigating measures such as— 
‘‘(I) 
medication, 
medical 
supplies, 
equipment, or appliances, low-vision devices 
(which do not include ordinary eyeglasses 
or contact lenses), prosthetics including 
limbs and devices, hearing aids and coch-
lear implants or other implantable hearing 
devices, mobility devices, or oxygen therapy 
equipment and supplies; 
‘‘(II) use of assistive technology; 
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