Date: 2008-06-25
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Madam Speaker.- I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 3195. the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of Since 1990. the Americans with Disabilities Act has made it possible for millions of productive. hardworking Americans to participate in our Nations economy. Among other rights. the law guaranteed that workers with disabilities would be judged on their merits. not on their employers prejudices. But since the ADAs enactment. several Supreme Court rulings have dramatically reduced the number of workers with disabilities who are protected from discrimination under the law. Workers with diabetes. cancer. epilepsy. the very workers for whom the Americans with Disabilities Act was intended to protect. can be legally fired or passed over for promotion just because of their disability. .In January. the Education and Labor Committee heard testimony from Carey McClure. Although he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at age 15. Carey had been working as an electrician for more than 20 years. Like so many other Americans with disabilities. Carey was able to find his way to successfully perform his job and all of lifes daily tasks despite his disability. Carey received an initial job offer from General Motors pending a physical. During the physical. the doctor asked Carey to hold his arms above his head. Carey could not. The doctor asked how he would perform his job if it required reaching over his head. Carey gave a commonsense answer- he would use a ladder. When General Motors learned that Carey had a disAbility. it rescinded the job offer. Carey challenged General Motors decision because he thought the Americans with Disabilities Act would protect him. He was wrong. The court ruled that. since Carey had adapted to his condition by modifying the way he performed everyday tasks. like washing his hair. he was not disabled. and. therefore. was not protected by the Americans with.Disabilities Act. Because of Supreme Court rulings. Carey and many others are now caught in a legal Catch22. The court has determined that. for individuals whose disabilities do not "prevent or severely restrict" major life activities and for those who mitigate their impairments through means such as hearings aids or with medications. they should not be considered disabled. In other words. an employer could fire or refuse to hire a fully qualified worker simply on the basis of his or her disability. while maintaining in court that the worker was not "disabled enough" to qualify for protection under the law. H.R. 3195. the legislation before us today. a bipartisan legislation. was introduced by Majority Leader HOYER and Congressman JIM SENSENBRENNER. and it remedies this problem. The bill reverses the flawed court decision and restores the original congressional intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act. H.R. 3195 clarifies the definition of a "disability." ensuring that anyone with a physical or with a mental im.pairment that materially restricts a major life activity is covered under ADA. In 2004. workers with disabilities lost 97 percent of the employment cases that went to trial. There has been no balance in the courts. putting workers at a distinct disadvantage. Too often. these cases have turned solely on the question of whether someone is an individual with a disability. too rarely have courts considered the merits of the discrimination claim itself. H.R. 3195 stops the erosion of civil rights protections for people with disabilities while maintaining a reasonable solution supported by the business community. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce states that H.R. 3195 "represents a balanced approach to ensure appropriate coverage under ADA." The Human Resource Policy Association. whose members employ 12 percent of the U.S. privatesector workforce. also supports the bill. The organization says that the ADA amendment "would maintain the functionality of the workplace while providing important protections to individuals with disabilities." H.R. 3195 makes it clear that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability and that Congress intended the law to be constructed broadly. Many of our Nations injured veterans returning from the battlefield will also need the protections guaranteed by the ADA. When injured soldiers return to civilian life. whether they go back to a job or to school. they should not be subject to discrimination. This legislation will ensure that they will not have to fight another battle. this time for their economic livelihood. The Supreme Court rulings have also reduced protections for students with disabilities. The ADA Amendments Act ensures that students with physical and mental impairments will be free from discrimination and that they will have access to the accommodations and to the modifications they need to successfully pursue an education. This legislation has broad support: Democrats and Republicans. businesses and advocates for individuals with disabilities. I am pleased we were able to work together to get to this point. It is time to restore the original intent of the ADA and to ensure that the tens of millions of Americans with disabilities who want to work and to attend school and to participate in our communities will have the chance to do so. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Again. I would like to give a special thanks to Majority Leader HOYER of Maryland and to Representative JiM SENSENBRENNER of Wisconsin for their outstanding efforts on behalf of the Members of this House during these negotiations. to bring those negotiations between the civil rights community. the disabilities community. and the employer community to a successful conclusion. which is embodied in this legislation today. I reserve the balance of my time.