[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S3483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          BOB SAMPSON TURNS 70

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to 
congratulate my friend Robert Sampson, of Arlington Heights, IL, on the 
occasion of his 70th birthday, Saturday, March 4. He is a truly 
remarkable person, whom I admire and respect.
  Bob Sampson has been an inspiration to many Americans. He has 
muscular dystrophy, which has caused him to be in a wheelchair since he 
was 9 years old. He lost his college scholarship when the school he was 
to attend found out he was disabled. Undaunted, he went on to college 
and law school and became a successful attorney for the city of 
Chicago. He then joined United Airlines, where he rose to be a senior 
vice president.
  As a successful member of the business community, Bob could have 
chosen to stay out of the struggles surrounding disability issues. 
Instead, he has been unselfish in his drive to help other people with 
disabilities gain access to buildings and equal employment 
opportunities. He was one of President Carter's first appointments to 
the U.S. Architectural Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, after 
having served as the Vice Chairman of the President's Committee on 
Employment of the Handicapped. A long-term member of the board of 
directors of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jerry Lewis' ``big 
kid,'' he has told his personal story to millions of people to raise 
money to find a cure for muscular dystrophy. He has never forgotten his 
roots.
  Bob Sampson has been a role model for all of us, teaching that 
disability is not inability. I join his wife Jean, his children--Patty, 
Rob, and Kathy--his grandchildren, and his many friends in wishing him 
a very happy birthday, and many more.


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