119 SRES 338 IS: Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling for further action to strengthen and expand health care for individuals with disabilities to work and live in the community.
U.S. Senate
2025-07-24
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EN
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III
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 338
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2025
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Warren, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coons, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Padilla, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Warnock, Mr. King, Mr. Welch, Mr. Booker, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Gallego) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling for further action to strengthen and expand health care for individuals with disabilities to work and live in the community.
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 segregate individuals with disabilities, and, despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive social problem”;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 recognizes the rights of individuals with disabilities to fully participate in their communities through independent living, equality of opportunity, and economic self-sufficiency;
Whereas, 35 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 26 years after 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 an institutional bias in the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as “Medicaid”) and a lack of resources for community support services;
Whereas, 35 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990—
(1)
more than one-third of individuals with disabilities rely on Medicaid for health insurance;
(2)
Medicaid makes it possible for individuals with disabilities to live in their own homes rather than in institutions;
(3)
children with disabilities access school-based health services through Medicaid; and
(4)
Medicaid is an essential support for individuals with disabilities to obtain and maintain work;
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, especially those of color, have been disparately impacted by the lingering effects of the COVID–19 pandemic, and the number of individuals with disabilities has increased due to Long COVID;
Whereas individuals with disabilities are at a greater risk of loss of life, loss of independence, or violation of civil rights than the general population during the increasing number of natural disasters in the United States and the response to and recovery from such disasters;
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience disproportionately greater barriers to high quality and accessible healthcare, education, housing, and competitive integrated employment opportunities, infringing on the right of individuals to fully participate in their communities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 represents the floor, not the ceiling, of efforts needed to dismantle barriers to full participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities; and
Whereas fulfilling the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires individuals, families, communities, and government to work together to guarantee that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to thrive in their communities throughout their lives: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
(1)
recognizes the importance of independent living, equal opportunity, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible 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 equality 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 opportunity, independent living, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for individuals with disabilities, including by focusing on individuals with disabilities who remain segregated in institutions;
(4)
pledges to work with States to improve funding for and access to home and community-based services for individuals with disabilities, with a focus on increasing access to employment;
(5)
admonishes against recent cuts, and any future cuts, to the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), including the establishment of burdensome work-reporting requirements and other barriers, which puts the health of individuals with disabilities at risk and hinders the progress made since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
(6)
calls on the Department of Labor to develop policies and practices, and to provide technical assistance, to increase the number and quality of competitive integrated employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities that enable such individuals to become economically self-sufficient;
(7)
calls on the Federal Communications Commission to provide information, resources, and technical assistance to enable individuals with disabilities to have full and equitable access to communications and telecommunications services and technologies;
(8)
calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to fully staff and support the Administration for Community Living and to champion independent living by providing information, resources, and technical assistance related to home- and community-based services;
(9)
calls on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide accessible and inclusive homes and communities that increase the options available for accessible, inclusive, and equitable housing for individuals with disabilities;
(10)
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; and
(11)
calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to continue to implement a whole community approach and to increase inclusivity and accessibility in emergency preparedness.