[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 714 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 714
Recognizing the importance of independent living for individuals with
disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and calling for further action to strengthen home and community
living for individuals with disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 20, 2022
Mr. Casey (for himself, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Markey, Ms. Warren, Mr. Kaine,
Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Padilla, Mr.
Leahy, Mr. King, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Reed, Mr. Bennet, Ms.
Hassan, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr.
Murphy, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Brown, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Duckworth, Mr.
Peters, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Durbin) submitted
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of independent living for individuals with
disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and calling for further action to strengthen home and community
living for individuals with disabilities.
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 32 years after the date of the enactment of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 and 23 years after the date of 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 a lack of support services;
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 living in institutional and long-term care
settings have endured disproportionate rates of infection and death
during the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities have been disparately affected by
the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience disproportionately
greater barriers to high quality and accessible healthcare, education,
and employment opportunities, infringing on their right to fully
participate in their communities under the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990; and
Whereas 32 years after the date of the enactment of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990--
(1) women with disabilities continue to regularly face barriers to
reproductive healthcare, including inaccessible and inequitable services;
(2) individuals with disabilities continue to face higher rates of
unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces and lack equitable
access to competitive integrated employment opportunities;
(3) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals with disabilities
live below the poverty line;
(4) some telecommunication, electronic, and information technologies
continue to be developed without the goal of making those technologies
fully accessible for all people of the United States; and
(5) many businesses, public and private organizations, transportation
systems, and services remain inaccessible to many individuals with
disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the importance of independent living 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 that remain segregated in
institutions;
(4) pledges to work with States to improve access to home
and community based services for individuals with disabilities;
(5) calls on the Department of Labor to develop policies
and practices and provide technical assistance that enable
individuals with disabilities to become economically self-
sufficient;
(6) calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to
provide information, resources, and technical assistance
related to home and community based services and to enable
individuals with disabilities to live independently;
(7) 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; and
(8) 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.
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