[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 75 (Thursday, June 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SUSAN SYGALL

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, July 26 will mark the 10th 
Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the next few 
weeks we'll be holding a number of events here in Washington and around 
the country to celebrate the ADA. And right now it looks like we can 
start our party a little early.
  I just found out that yesterday, Susan Sygall, a woman with a 
disability, received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Each year, the 
MacArthur Foundation awards 20 or so unrestricted $500,000 grants to, 
and I quote, ``talented individuals who have shown extraordinary 
originality and dedication. . . .'' These so-called ``genius grants'' 
are among the most prestigious in the world.
  Susan is the Executive Director of Mobility International USA. 
Mobility International's mission is to empower people with 
disabilities, particularly women, through international exchange, and 
by providing information, technical assistance, and training to ensure 
the inclusion of people with disabilities in international exchange and 
development programs.
  Right now, Mobility International is, among other things, 
facilitating a program to develop relationships between the disability 
communities in Vietnam and in the United States. Some of Susan's genius 
must have rubbed off on us in the Foreign Operations Committee because 
we encouraged USAID to fund disability rights programs in Vietnam. I 
hope that we can help the program again this year.
  I strongly believe that for all of America's economic and military 
might, our greatest strength will always be our democratic principles. 
Those principles have served as the foundation for aspiring democracies 
everywhere. As our own democracy matures, and the ADA is a testament to 
that, it is essential that we export the lessons we have learned.
  I have seen personally how the ADA has fostered disability rights 
activism around the world and as the 10th Anniversary approaches I can 
think of no better person to honor than Susan Sygall. A civil rights 
law is only as great as the people who bring it to life every day. 
That's why when I hear about people like Susan, I know that the ADA's 
future is in good hands.




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