[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 43 (Monday, April 14, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3126-S3127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 71--RELATIVE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Murkowski, and 
Mr. Bryan) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Rules and Administration:

                               S. Res. 71

       Resolved, That (a) an individual with a disability (as 
     defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
     of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)) who has or is granted the 
     privilege of the Senate floor may bring those supporting 
     services (including service dogs, wheelchairs, and 
     interpreters) on the Senate floor the employing or 
     supervising office determines are necessary to assist the 
     disabled individual in discharging the official duties of his 
     or her position.
       (b) The employing or supervising office of a disabled 
     individual shall administer the provisions of this 
     resolution.

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the resolution that I submit today would 
change the Senate rules that deny floor access to those individuals who 
are visually impaired and need to use guide dogs to carry out their 
official duties.
  By denying floor access to Ms. Shea and her guide dog, the Senate, in 
my view, is violating the Congressional Accountability Act, which 
requires that Congress abide by the requirements and intent of the 
Americans With Disabilities Act. A guide dog is a person's vision. A 
guide dog is a working dog, not a pet. This guide dog is with Ms. Shea 
all the time. He is with her in meetings in my office. He goes with her 
to energy committee hearings and has even gone with her to nuclear 
weapons facilities.
  Mr. President and colleagues, I had hoped that there would be no need 
to

[[Page S3127]]

offer this resolution, but I am forced to because discrimination still 
persists here. Ms. Shea is being treated differently simply because she 
is visually impaired and needs to use a guide dog.
  Now, some may believe that the Senate fulfills its obligations under 
the Americans With Disabilities Act--
  Mr. REID. Will my friend yield for a unanimous-consent request?
  Mr. WYDEN. Yes.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a cosponsor of 
the Senator's resolution.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that I be 
made a cosponsor.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that I also be added as a 
cosponsor to the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the Senators will be added 
as cosponsors.
  Mr. WYDEN. I thank my colleagues.
  Mr. President, some believe that the Senate is fulfilling its 
obligations under the Americans With Disabilities Act if they provide 
someone to accompany Ms. Shea to the Senate floor. But let me say that 
an unknown staff person is no substitute for a working guide dog.
  The relevant language from the Americans With Disabilities Act says 
that an employer must provide reasonable accommodation for an 
individual with a disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Office 
has said, ``reasonable accommodation [is] when an employer permits a 
person who is blind to use a guide dog at work.''
  Let us put ourselves in Ms. Shea's situation. Imagine that you need 
to go on the Senate floor to carry out your official duties, but, wait, 
you must first check your ability to see with the doorkeeper, or go to 
the Rules Committee to get a resolution. I fail to see the logic of 
this, and I fail to see the justice behind it. Miss Shea's situation 
doesn't require extra financial resources nor special treatment. She 
just wants to do her job as a professional.
  A large part of the problem seems to be a lack of understanding. So 
let me tell the Senate a little bit about what guide dogs do. They are 
working dogs, not pets. A guide dog is that person's vision, an 
integral part of that person's essential activities and professional 
responsibilities. A blind person or a visually impaired person, such as 
Ms. Shea, has learned to turn over her diminishing sight to her dog and 
trusts that dog with her safety. This guide dog has blocked Ms. Shea 
from oncoming traffic. He knows his left from his right. He is a marker 
to others that Ms. Shea is visually impaired. She has gone to the 
Senate Energy Committee hearings and nuclear weapons facilities. This 
dog has even met more just access with respect to the Soviet Union.
  Yet, here in the United States, on the Senate floor, where we passed 
the ADA and the Congressional Accountability Act, we are refusing 
access to someone who needs to use a guide dog. This guide dog has a 
serious job, and, I might add, the dog performs it very well. This is 
the tool that Ms. Shea uses to be a productive member of the work 
force, and today we are denying her the ability to do her job to the 
best of her ability. Ms. Shea is part of a growing work force of 
persons who want to be independent, who want to be productive, and who 
have been raised with a can-do attitude.
  Let me conclude by describing how the guide dog would work on the 
floor. Ms. Shea would most likely tell him to ``follow me,'' and as 
they walked down the aisle, the dog would alert Ms. Shea to each step 
by stopping. Then Ms. Shea would say to him ``find the chair,'' and 
then Ms. Shea would sit down and the dog would lay right beside her. We 
would all forget that the dog was even here. In leaving, Ms. Shea would 
tell the dog to ``find the door'' once again, and the dog would alert 
her to where all the steps are and take her right to the door.
  Mr. President, that is all there is to it. It seems to me that the 
Senate should change its rules to ensure that there is justice for 
people like Ms. Shea. To tell someone like Ms. Shea that she cannot 
come to the Senate floor with either a white cane or a guide dog and 
only with an escort is demeaning. You take away her right to decide 
what is the best method for her to carry out her job as a professional. 
You take away her sense of independence. You take away her dignity. You 
make her dependent on others. That is not what the Americans With 
Disabilities Act is all about.
  Ms. Shea has Usher's Syndrome. That is the leading cause of deaf-
blindness in the United States. She has struggled and worked hard to 
get where she is today as a professional. She is independent and self-
sufficient, and she told me that she can cope with losing her eyesight, 
but she should not be forced to face blatant discrimination.
  It is time for the Senate to change its rules. I look forward to 
working with my colleagues on the Rules Committee to do this. It is 
time to ensure that the visually impaired in our country have justice, 
and have justice in the way that Congress envisioned with the Americans 
With Disabilities Act and the Congress Accountability Act. I thank my 
friends from Minnesota, Nevada, and Alaska for joining me as cosponsors 
this morning on this resolution.

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