[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1041 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1041

Recognizing and honoring the 50th anniversary of the date of enactment 
               of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 7, 2018

   Mr. Langevin (for himself and Mr. Harper) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing and honoring the 50th anniversary of the date of enactment 
               of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.

Whereas August 12, 2018, marks the 50th anniversary of the date of enactment of 
        the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (referred to in this preamble as 
        the ``ABA'');
Whereas the ABA was the first measure passed by Congress to require buildings 
        and facilities to be accessible to individuals with physical 
        disabilities and served as an important forerunner to the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990;
Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to craft legislation to make 
        Federal buildings accessible to individuals with disabilities;
Whereas both Houses of Congress unanimously passed the ABA;
Whereas President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the ABA into law on August 12, 
        1968, with the goal of ending the ``needless and cruel discrimination'' 
        inherent in the lack of access to Federal buildings for individuals with 
        disabilities;
Whereas Congress, in 1973, established the Architectural and Transportation 
        Barriers Compliance Board (the ``Access Board'') to enforce 
        accessibility standards prescribed pursuant to the ABA;
Whereas the ABA was amended in 1976 to cover the buildings and facilities of the 
        Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail System, a 
        valuable resource for millions of area residents and tourists;
Whereas the Access Board issued its most recent Guidelines (codified at 36 
        C.F.R. part 1191) to implement the ABA on July 23, 2004, and--

    (1) the United States Postal Service adopted those Guidelines as its 
ABA Accessibility Standards effective October 1, 2005;

    (2) the General Services Administration adopted those Guidelines as its 
ABA Accessibility Standards effective May 8, 2006; and

    (3) the Department of Defense adopted those Guidelines as its ABA 
Accessibility Standards effective October 31, 2008;

Whereas, in 2015, there were almost 265,000 career Federal employees with 
        disabilities; and
Whereas, in 2017, nearly 13 percent of the civilian population in the United 
        States reported having a disability: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary of the date 
        of enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968;
            (2) salutes everyone whose efforts contributed to the 
        enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968;
            (3) reaffirms its support of the Architectural Barriers Act 
        of 1968;
            (4) encourages all entities responsible for the design and 
        construction of Federal and federally funded buildings and 
        facilities to go beyond the minimum requirements of the 
        Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and the accessibility 
        standards promulgated pursuant to it; and
            (5) pledges to continue to work to identify and remove 
        barriers that prevent all people of the United States from 
        having equal access to buildings and facilities covered by the 
        Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.
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