[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 772 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 772

  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 opportunities for individuals with 
        disabilities to participate in work and community life.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2024

Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Padilla, 
  Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Smith, Mr. Welch, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
 Hickenlooper, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Wyden, 
   Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Booker, Ms. Butler, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Coons, Ms. 
   Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hassan, Mr. King, Mr. 
Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, Mr. Merkley, 
   Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Peters, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Bennet) 
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 opportunities for individuals with 
        disabilities to participate in work and community life.

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, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990 and 25 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), individuals with disabilities are faced with systemic ableism in 
        the labor market, are pushed into poverty by lower rates of employment, 
        and have higher costs of living associated with their disabilities;
Whereas, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the Americans with 
        Disabilities Act of 1990--

    (1) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals with disabilities 
live below the poverty line;

    (2) individuals with disabilities continue to face high rates of 
unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces;

    (3) women with disabilities continue to regularly face barriers to 
reproductive healthcare, including inaccessible and inequitable services;

    (4) some telecommunication, electronic, and information technologies 
continue to be developed without the goal of making those technologies 
fully accessible for all individuals of the United States; and

    (5) many businesses, public and private organizations, transportation 
systems, and services remain inaccessible to many individuals with 
disabilities;

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 more at risk for loss of life, loss of 
        independence, or violation of civil rights than the general population 
        during disaster, response, and recovery;
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 their right 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, and 
        not the ceiling, of efforts needed to dismantle barriers to full 
        participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-
        sufficiency; 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 and in their lives: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, 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 access to home- 
        and community-based services for individuals with disabilities, 
        with a focus on increasing access to employment;
            (5) calls on the Department of Labor to develop policies 
        and practices and to provide technical assistance that enables 
        individuals with disabilities to become economically self-
        sufficient;
            (6) calls on the Office of Disability Employment Policy of 
        the Department of Labor to coordinate with employers and all 
        levels of government to develop and influence policies and 
        practices that increase the number and quality of employment 
        opportunities for individuals with disabilities;
            (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 
        provide information, resources, and technical assistance 
        related to home- and community-based services and to enable 
        individuals with disabilities to live independently;
            (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.
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