[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1759 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1759

  Expressing support for designation of January 23rd as ``Ed Roberts 
                                 Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2010

 Mr. George Miller of California (for himself, Ms. Lee of California, 
     Mr. Farr, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Langevin) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing support for designation of January 23rd as ``Ed Roberts 
                                 Day''.

Whereas Edward Verne Roberts was born January 23, 1939;
Whereas Roberts acquired polio as an adolescent in 1953 and had to spend vast 
        expanses of time in an iron lung;
Whereas Roberts' career as an advocate began when a high school administrator 
        threatened to deny him a diploma because he had not completed driver's 
        education and physical education;
Whereas in 1962 Roberts was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley 
        (UC Berkeley), where he became the first student with a severe 
        disability to attend UC Berkeley;
Whereas when his search for housing at the university met resistance, the 
        director of the campus hospital offered Roberts a room in an empty wing, 
        which Roberts accepted on the condition that it was considered a 
        dormitory space;
Whereas other students with significant disabilities joined Roberts in the empty 
        wing over the next few years and called themselves the ``Rolling 
        Quads'';
Whereas at UC Berkeley the Rolling Quads began advocating for curb cuts, opening 
        access to the wider community and creating the first student-led 
        disability services program at a university in the Nation;
Whereas the student program led to the creation of the Nation's first center for 
        independent living;
Whereas Roberts assumed leadership of the Center for Independent Living, 
        Berkeley, and guided its development as a model for disability advocacy 
        and self-help services across the Nation and around the world;
Whereas in 1975 Roberts was appointed the Director of the California Department 
        of Rehabilitation;
Whereas in 1983 Roberts co-founded the World Institute on Disability, an 
        organization committed to eliminating barriers to full social 
        integration for persons with disabilities;
Whereas Ed Roberts died from natural causes on March 14, 1995; and
Whereas Ed Roberts was a leader and champion in the disability rights movement: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of an ``Ed Roberts Day''; and
            (2) acknowledges the accomplishments of Ed Roberts in 
        helping reduce barriers, increase access, and improve lives for 
        persons with disabilities.
                                 <all>