[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 361 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 361

  Recognizing the importance of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on the 
 lives of individuals with disabilities and calling for further action 
    to advance access, opportunity, and equity for individuals with 
                             disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 26 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

   Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
 Fetterman, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Warren, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Van Hollen, and 
Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
       to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the importance of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on the 
 lives of individuals with disabilities and calling for further action 
    to advance access, opportunity, and equity for individuals with 
                             disabilities.

Whereas September 26, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
Whereas, with the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
        seq.), the discrimination faced by individuals with disabilities was 
        recognized as systemic, rather than as an experience of the individual;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) was modeled on 
        anti-discrimination laws on the basis of race and sex;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) recognized 
        individuals with disabilities as a class of people subject to 
        discrimination based on the identity individuals with disabilities 
        share;
Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation to address 
        the civil rights of individuals with disabilities;
Whereas Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), 
        which President Richard Nixon signed into law on September 26, 1973;
Whereas, in enacting the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), 
        Congress, for the first time, addressed the civil rights of individuals 
        with disabilities;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) expanded 
        employment opportunities and further advanced independent living for 
        individuals with disabilities through improvements to vocational 
        rehabilitation services;
Whereas section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791)--

    (1) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in 
Federal employment and has resulted in the Federal Government benefitting 
from the efforts of the nearly 10 percent of the Federal workforce who have 
disabilities; and

    (2) requires Federal agencies to establish an affirmative action 
program for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with 
disabilities;

Whereas section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793) prohibits 
        Federal contractors from discriminating in employment against 
        individuals with disabilities and requires employers take affirmative 
        actions to recruit, hire, promote, and retain individuals with 
        disabilities;
Whereas title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et seq.) 
        established the Independent Living Services and Centers of Independent 
        Living programs to promote the independence, self-determination, equal 
        access, and leadership of individuals with disabilities;
Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) prohibits 
        discrimination on the basis of disability in all federally assisted 
        programs or activities and laid the foundation for the passage of the 
        Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) has 
        impacted access to and equity in healthcare, education, community 
        living, employment opportunities, housing, transportation, electronic 
        information and technology, and all other facets of life for individuals 
        with disabilities;
Whereas, on April 28, 1977, nearly 4 years after the enactment of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), disability rights 
        activists secured implementation of the rights established under that 
        Act after leading sit-ins of Federal buildings across the United States;
Whereas section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), an 
        important addition made to the Act in 1986 and expanded in 1998, 
        improves the information and communications technology of Federal 
        agencies to be accessible to individuals with disabilities;
Whereas 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
        U.S.C. 701 et seq.), individuals with disabilities still experience 
        discrimination and barriers that interfere with their full participation 
        in economic and social life in the United States; and
Whereas 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
        U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Act remains a critical law in advancing access, 
        opportunity, and equity for individuals with disabilities, especially in 
        historically underserved communities, and in meeting the goals of full 
        participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-
        sufficiency for individuals with disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the importance of access, opportunity, and 
        equity for individuals with disabilities, made possible by the 
        enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
        seq.);
            (2) encourages individuals of the United States to 
        celebrate the advancements made possible by the enactment of 
        the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
            (3) pledges to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to 
        address access and equity barriers that remain for individuals 
        with disabilities, particularly multimarginalized individuals, 
        including Black, indigenous, and other people of color, 
        immigrants, LBGTQ people, low-income individuals, and people 
        living in rural and underserved areas;
            (4) pledges to continue to work with State and local 
        educational agencies to provide equal access to a free 
        appropriate public education for all students with 
        disabilities, including individuals with disabilities with 
        multimarginalized identities;
            (5) pledges to continue to work with public health and 
        healthcare delivery systems to address healthcare disparities 
        and inadequate services for individuals with disabilities, from 
        preventive care to home and community-based services;
            (6) calls on Federal agencies to improve equal employment 
        opportunities for workers with disabilities in the Federal 
        sector through recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention 
        initiatives; and
            (7) calls on the Department of Justice and the General 
        Services Administration to improve their enforcement of, and 
        oversight and compliance with, section 508 of the 
        Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).
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