[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S8512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PERMITTING INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES FULL ACCESS TO THE SENATE 
                                 FLOOR

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I take the floor tonight to discuss a 
resolution that I have introduced with Senator Warner to permit 
individuals with disabilities full access to the floor of the U.S. 
Senate. I believe that this resolution will be approved later tonight 
and has been reviewed by both the majority and the minority. I 
anticipate that it will be incorporated into the final business of the 
U.S. Senate during the wrap-up session before the session formally 
concludes.
  Mr. President, this resolution that I offer tonight will close the 
book on discrimination against individuals with disabilities on the 
floor of the U.S. Senate.
  Earlier this year, after a visually impaired professional on my staff 
was barred from bringing her guide dog onto the floor, the Senate 
adopted a resolution providing for temporary case-by-case entry to the 
floor for those professionals with disabilities. This was a good step--
an important step. But it still left some room for discrimination.
  The resolution that will be considered by the Senate tonight will 
ensure that as a matter of formal Senate rule there is no 
discrimination permitted against individuals with disabilities. There 
will no longer be a double standard in the U.S. Senate. Senate staffers 
with disabilities who have the privilege of the Senate floor will be 
permitted to bring onto the Senate floor supporting aids and services 
such as canes, service dogs, interpreters, or assistive devices.
  This is an important day for the Senate, for people with 
disabilities, and for our whole country because it makes clear that the 
U.S. Congress ought to follow the laws that apply to everyone else in 
our country.
  I especially want, Mr. President, to recognize the hard work of the 
chairman of the Rules Committee, Senator John Warner, in moving this 
resolution forward. As every Member of this body knows, he has an 
enormous workload. He was extremely gracious to me in working to 
develop this resolution and gain bipartisan support for it.
  I would also like to pay a special tribute to the senior Senator from 
the State of West Virginia, Senator Byrd, whose expert knowledge of the 
Senate rules was of enormous benefit in drafting this new resolution.
  As a relatively new Senator, I have great esteem for the constant 
care which Senator Byrd uses to guard the traditions and prerogatives 
of this body. I am of the view that every U.S. Senator owes a debt of 
gratitude to the Senator from West Virginia for his constant vigilance 
with respect to ensuring the rights of all on the Senate floor.
  Mr. President, this is an important resolution. It is justice long 
overdue. Earlier this year, a congressional fellow in my office was 
denied access to the Senate floor because she uses a guide dog. That 
guide dog is a working dog; a guide dog that serves as the eyes for a 
visually impaired person. The people of this country were offended, and 
they sent a message that this type of discrimination is unacceptable to 
them.
  My office, like many others in the U.S. Senate, were inundated with 
calls, mail, and e-mail.
  There was one letter I received that recounted a bit of history that 
I would like to briefly share.
  The letter that was sent to me told a story about the Senate in the 
1930s when there were some Members who disapproved of a guide dog 
coming onto the Senate floor. The individual then who needed the 
assistance of the guide dog was Senator Schall of Minnesota. The letter 
described the Senator's first entry into the Chamber with his guide dog 
and how the other Senators rose, one by one, and then in large numbers 
applauded him. The Senate galleries followed suit until the whole 
Senate was just one gigantic standing ovation.
  The letter goes on to say that Senator Schall stopped by his seat, 
turned and listened to the ovation from all around him and was touched 
as the ovation continued and continued. Waving to the crowd, the 
Senator took his seat and commanded his guide dog, Lux, to lie down. 
The guide dog then curled up under the Senator's desk, tucking his body 
so it would not be in the way of any Senator who passed by. The May 22, 
1933, issue of the Congressional Record documents how strongly the 
American public reacted to the news of the death of Senator Schall's 
guide dog. The guide dog died after being separated a few days from the 
Senator when he thought it would be inappropriate to take the dog with 
him to attend the funeral of another Senator. Senator Schall said then:

       Mr. President, since the death of my good dog, Lux, last 
     March, the mails of this and other countries have brought me 
     hundreds of letters of regret. So many expressions of 
     interest have gladdened and surprised me.

  It seems to me that the action that the Senate will take shortly 
makes it clear that we have not forgotten how important it is to stand 
for the principle of equal justice in this Chamber. What we do each day 
is set an example, and here particularly an important example, because 
as a result of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Congressional 
Accountability Act, and other statutes, we make clear that the laws of 
the United States are going to apply in this Chamber.
  As a result of this resolution, and particularly the extremely 
helpful work that Senator Warner and Senator Byrd have done, it is 
going to be possible to have a formal Senate rule that ensures that 
discrimination against individuals with disabilities is not going to be 
tolerated on this floor.
  This rule takes the generally accepted definition of an individual 
with a disability, defined as one who has a physical or mental 
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life 
activities of such individual, and says it is not possible to 
discriminate against that individual in this Chamber.
  In closing, Mr. President, I want to observe that there are 49 
million Americans with a disabilities. Under the law, they are 
guaranteed the same rights as all other Americans in terms of access to 
jobs, insurance, transportation, and telecommunications technology. 
They are not guaranteed special treatment. They are guaranteed just 
equal access. That is what this resolution is all about, equal access.
  Finally, Mr. President, many lessons have been learned from this 
experience. I believe that the Senate and our country are more aware 
and sensitive to the many issues facing individuals with disabilities. 
We have seen that rules can and should be updated to meet the changing 
needs of our society. I believe that the Senate and our country as a 
whole are better off as a result of the consideration of this 
resolution and the strong bipartisan support that has developed here 
and in our country.
  Mr. President, I think this is an important day for the Senate, a 
good day for the Senate, because it was a day which ensures that our 
country is a bit more fair, a bit more sensitive to the needs of those 
with disabilities. I commend my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
who have helped me so much, particularly Senators Warner and Byrd.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators Byrd, Reid, 
Kerry, Chafee, Akaka, Kennedy, Murray, Bingaman, Murkowski, Feingold, 
Hatch, Durbin, and Harkin be added as cosponsors.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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