[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 338 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 338
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 health care for individuals with disabilities
to work and live in the community.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 24, 2025
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Reed, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Warren, Ms.
Baldwin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coons, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Padilla, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono,
Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Warnock, Mr. King,
Mr. Welch, Mr. Booker, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Durbin, and Mr.
Gallego) 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 health care for individuals with disabilities
to work and live in the community.
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, 35 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 and 26 years after 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 an institutional bias in the Medicaid program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (referred to in this
preamble as ``Medicaid'') and a lack of resources for community support
services;
Whereas, 35 years after the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990--
(1) more than one-third of individuals with disabilities rely on
Medicaid for health insurance;
(2) Medicaid makes it possible for individuals with disabilities to
live in their own homes rather than in institutions;
(3) children with disabilities access school-based health services
through Medicaid; and
(4) Medicaid is an essential support for individuals with disabilities
to obtain and maintain work;
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 at a greater risk of loss of life,
loss of independence, or violation of civil rights than the general
population during the increasing number of natural disasters in the
United States and the response to and recovery from such disasters;
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 the right of individuals 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, not
the ceiling, of efforts needed to dismantle barriers to full
participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-
sufficiency for individuals with disabilities; 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 throughout 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 funding for and
access to home and community-based services for individuals
with disabilities, with a focus on increasing access to
employment;
(5) admonishes against recent cuts, and any future cuts, to
the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), including the establishment of
burdensome work-reporting requirements and other barriers,
which puts the health of individuals with disabilities at risk
and hinders the progress made since the enactment of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
(6) calls on the Department of Labor to develop policies
and practices, and to provide technical assistance, to increase
the number and quality of competitive integrated employment
opportunities for individuals with disabilities that enable
such individuals to become economically self-sufficient;
(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
fully staff and support the Administration for Community Living
and to champion independent living by providing information,
resources, and technical assistance related to home- and
community-based services;
(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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