[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7637-S7641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask the indulgence of the Senate to do
something that I did 10 years ago; that is, to recognize the 10th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by doing what I did
on the floor 10 years ago. I will do a little bit of sign language with
respect to that.
(Signing.)
Mr. President, what I just said in sign language was that 10 years
ago I stood on the floor of the Senate and spoke in sign language when
we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. The reason I did that
was because my brother Frank was my inspiration for all of my work here
in Congress on disability law.
That was the reason that I became the chief sponsor of the Americans
With Disabilities Act. I further said that I was sorry to say that my
brother passed away last month. Over the last 10 years, he always said
me that he was sorry the ADA was not there for him when he was growing
up, but that he was happy that it was here now for young people so they
would have a better future. Mr. President, we do celebrate today the
tenth anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which has
taken its place as one of the greatest civil rights laws in our
history.
When you think about it, ten years ago, on July 25, 1990, a person
with a disability saw an ad in the paper for a job for which that
person was qualified, and went down to the business to interview for
the job. The prospective employer could look at that person and say: we
don't hire people like you, get out of here. On July 25, 1990, that
person was alone. The courthouse door was closed. There was no recourse
for that person because there was no ban on discrimination because of
disability. We banned it on the basis of race, sex, religion, national
origin, but not disability. So on July 25, 1990, a person
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with a disability held the short end of the stick.
But one day later, on July 26, 1990, the courthouse doors were
opened. A person with a disability could now go down to that courthouse
and enforce his or her civil rights. On July 26th, that one person who
was alone the day before became 54 million people, and now that short
end of the stick became a powerful club by which a disabled American
could defend his or her rights.
Ten years ago, we as a Nation committed ourselves to the principle
that a disability does not eliminate a person's right to participate in
the cultural, economic, educational, political and social mainstream.
Ten years ago, we said no to exclusion, no to dependence, no to
segregation. We said yes to inclusion, yes to independence, and yes to
integration in our society to people with disabilities. That is what
the ADA is all about.
For me, the ADA, as I have just said, was a lot about my brother
Frank. He lost his hearing at an early age. Then he was taken from his
home, his family and his community and sent across the State to the
Iowa State school for the deaf. People often referred to it as the
school for the ``deaf and dumb.'' I remember one time my brother
telling me, ``I may be deaf, but I am not dumb.''
While at school, Frank was told he could be one of three things: a
cobbler, a printers assistant, or a baker. When he said he didn't want
to be any one of those things. They said, OK, you are a baker. So after
he got out of school, he became a baker. But that is not what he wanted
to do. So he went on to do other things, obviously.
Everyday tasks were always hard. I remember, as a young boy, going
with my older brother Frank to a store and how the sales person, when
she found out that he was deaf, looked through him like he was
invisible and turned to me to ask me what he wanted; or how when he
wanted to get a driver's license, he was told that ``deaf people don't
drive.'' So his life was not easy because the deck was stacked against
him. He truly held the short end of the stick.
I remember when my brother finally changed jobs. He got out of baking
and got a job at a plant in Des Moines. He had a good job at Delavan's.
Mr. Delavan decided he wanted to hire people with disabilities, and so
my brother went to work there. He had a great job. He became a drill
press operator making jet nozzles for jet engines. He was very proud of
his work. Later on, I was in the Navy, in the military. I remember when
I came home on leave for Christmas, and I was unmarried at the time. I
came home to spend it with my brother Frank, who was also unmarried,
and the company he worked for had a Christmas dinner. So I went with my
brother to it, not knowing that anything special was going to happen.
It turned out that they were honoring Frank that night, because in 10
years of working there he had not missed one day of work and hadn't
been late once. Mr. President, that is during Iowa winters. So, again,
that is an indication of just how hard-working and dedicated people
with disabilities are when they do get a job. He worked at that plant
for 23 years, and in 23 years he missed 3 days of work. And that was
because of an unusual blizzard.
Another little funny aside. In ADA, we mandated a nationwide relay
system for the deaf, so that a deaf person could call a hearing person,
and a hearing person could call a deaf person without having to use the
TTY. One of the first calls made on the nationwide relay system was
from the White House in 1993, when President Clinton put in a call to
my brother Frank. We had it all set up. President Clinton called the
number, and the line was busy. All the national press was there and
everything. He waited a few seconds and the line was busy again. It was
busy three or four times. Finally, I called my neighbor in Cumming,
Iowa, and I said, ``Go over and find out what is going on.'' My brother
was so excited that he had been on the phone talking to his friends. He
forgot that the President was going to call him. President Clinton
related that story at the FDR memorial this morning in celebration of
the Americans With Disabilities Act and reminded me again of what the
ADA was all about. As President Clinton so eloquently said this
morning, it is about ensuring that every American can just do ordinary
things, such as use the phone, go shopping, use public transportation.
It is also about ensuring that every American has access to resources
as fundamental as health insurance, a job, an education--things that we
take for granted.
The ADA is about designing our policies and physical environment so
that we as a Nation can benefit from the talent of every citizen. It is
about acknowledging that it costs much more to squander the potential
of millions of people than to make the modest accommodations that let
all Americans contribute fully. It is about tearing down the false
dichotomy of abled and disabled, and realizing that each of us has a
unique set of abilities.
Mr. President, a few weeks ago, in anticipation of this tenth
anniversary celebration of ADA, I announced ``A Day in the Life of the
ADA Campaign.'' I asked people from across America to send stories
about how their lives are different because of ADA. I wanted to find
out just what the ADA meant to other people in ordinary life.
Based on these stories, I have learned that the ADA is truly changing
the face of America.
A woman from Vinton, Iowa who uses a wheelchair wrote to tell me that
because of the ADA, she now can travel around the country. She said:
You can't understand until you've been there, searching for
a hotel room, a restroom to stop in, a room to accommodate
you, your spouse and your wheelchair. Oh, the joy of now
knowing there are rest areas where we can stop, enter in
without great difficulty, and then travel on to a waiting
accessible motel room! What a good feeling to call ahead,
make reservations and know that when we arrive there we'd
find a clean room, ready to accommodate my needs.
A man from St. Paul, Minnesota who is visually-impaired wrote to say
that because of accommodations required by the ADA, he can use city
buses with dignity, hear the audible traffic signals, and work. He said
that the ADA also enables him to enjoy cultural activities, because he
can listen to narrations of plays through earphones and basketball
games through special radio receivers. In his words:
[The ADA] has made my life 1000 times better than my
father's who was also totally blind.
And, a woman from Corpus Christi, Texas, whose daughter is hearing
impaired told me that her daughter is able to join her schoolmates in
classes and activities because of relay services and interpreters. The
mother also told me that because of the ADA-required relay services,
her daughter was able to speak with her father for the first time.
When my daughter was just 4 years old, she got to call her
real father for the first time. I wish you could have seen
the sparkle in her eyes and the tears in mine as she `talked'
with her daddy. It took forever (she couldn't type) but the
relay service was friendly and patient. I believe that Relay
has played a part in keeping their relationship strong. Every
little girl needs her daddy.
Mr. President, I have a whole stack of these stories. I will not ask
permission for all, but I ask unanimous consent to have some of the
more poignant stories that I received from around the country be
printed in the Record. They are very short.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Success Stories From U.S. Senator Tom Harkin's ``A Day in the Life of
the Americans with Disabilities Act'' Campaign
New York
Summary: According to a man in New York with cerebral
palsy, the ADA-required ramps, elevators, automatic doors,
curb cuts, and accessible transportation have allowed him to
be more independent in his life. Thanks to the ADA, he is now
able to do his own banking, go to the post office or shop by
himself, or enjoy a meal at a restaurant. Reasonable
accommodation requirements have allowed him to work as an
advocate for people with disabilities and earn money to
contribute to his household expenses. In his words, the ADA
has allowed him to ``show my community that I am willing and
able to be like anyone else in ways like getting a job and
being independent.''
Quotation: [Prior to the ADA,] I felt that I was not a real
human being because people with disabilities . . . were not
supposed to be seen or heard . . . [The ADA] opened the door
to freedom for people with all types of disabilities . . .
The ADA is a step toward reaching equal ground for EVERYONE!
. . . Doing things on my own makes me feel like I am a PERSON
and gives me a lot of confidence in myself''.
[[Page S7639]]
Tennessee
Summary: A man from Tennessee has been quadriplegic since
an automobile accident in 1990, the very year that the ADA
was signed. According to him, the ADA has helped him pursue
his academic, as well as employment, dreams. The ADA helped
him to earn an undergraduate degree and was even the subject
of his master's thesis during graduate school at a Tennessee
state university.
Quotation: [With the passage of the ADA], my physical
impairments that had recently been introduced to a cold world
now had a blanket. A blanket provided by my country . . . My
disability and the ADA were born together and this year we
celebrate 10 years of success, for the both of us.
Maryland
Summary: A woman from Maryland is the mother of three
autistic children--all of whom have benefitted from the ADA.
Because of the ADA, she looks forward to her children
graduating from school and working in the community when they
grow up.
Quotations: Ten years ago before the ADA my boys would have
been wrenched with heart ache as they walked with their heads
hung down in shame. They would feel the pain of having a
disorder that would make them stand and learn apart from the
other children at school. I am not sure what their future
holds in store. I know that the supports are in place.
Sacramento, California
Summary: A man with muscular dystrophy from Sacramento,
California, cannot imagine what his life would be like
without the ADA and celebrates July 26 as the ``Other
Independence Day.'' He credits the ADA with making his life
``full and independent'' by requiring stores, restaurants,
parks, and theaters to be accessible to all people.
Quotation: The ADA embodies what people with disabilities
really want, to be viewed as people first, not judged or
excluded because of our disabilities. We want to earn a
living, raise families, go to restaurants, churches and live
our lives as independently as possible with dignity and
respect and not be excluded because of barriers--be they
architectural, communication or attitudinal barriers.
Moss Point, Mississippi
Summary: A woman from Moss Point, Mississippi has been in a
wheelchair since 1997. The ADA makes it possible for her to
do her own grocery shopping, attend events at her
grandchildren's school, go to dinner ``anywhere,'' travel,
and stay in a handicapped room at a motel with the ``greatest
shower [she has] ever seen''.
Quotation: No one plans to become handicapped, but I am
grateful the ADA Program planned for me.
Arroyo Grand, California
Summary: A man from Arroyo Grand, California who uses a
wheelchair says that he has benefitted from the ADA in a
variety of ways. Because of the ADA, he is able to watch his
nieces play basketball in an accessible gymnasium, to play
chess in accessible recreation rooms, even to attend a Bob
Dylan concert and to shut his own apartment door.
Quotation: The success of the Americans with Disabilities
Act over the last ten years was caused by its enormous power.
Knowledge of its power brings improvement. The reason the ADA
is powerful is that all businesses know about it, and people
with disabilities can communicate with that powerful
knowledge . . . Everywhere I go today I can seriously say
``ADA'' and get a response.
Salem, Indiana
Summary: A woman from Salem, Indiana, uses a wheelchair and
has limited use of one arm. She credits the ADA for the
construction of buildings where her disability ``never occurs
to [her]''--with aisles wide enough to accommodate a
wheelchair, bathrooms that are accessible, and drinking
fountains at chair level. She writes of the joy of being
allowed access, via outside elevators and ramps, to such
historical sites as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the
Lincoln Memorial.
Quotation: Dear ADA, Thank you for being there when we need
you, the curb cuts, low-incline ramps, the grab bars and the
list goes on and on . . . ADA, what life has done to us, you
have equalized it, with accessibility.
Greenbelt, Maryland
Summary: A man who lives in Greenbelt, Maryland and is
hearing impaired thanks the ADA for increasing public
awareness of the abilities the ``disabled'' have. He praises
the ADA for helping him become an attorney and allowing him
to help other people with disabilities ``achieve their
dreams.'' According to him, the ADA has impacted almost every
aspect of his daily life, from the time he turns on the
television with closed-captioning in the morning, to the time
he attends a city advisory meeting with an interpreter at
night.
Quotation: The impact of the ADA is felt throughout my
daily life. When I turn on the TV in the morning, I can watch
captions and public service announcements because of the ADA.
When I go to work and make phone calls, I use the
telecommunication relay services enacted by the ADA. I talk
with my friends who are given accommodations on the job as
required by the ADA. In the afternoon I go to the doctor's
office and am able to communicate with my doctor because the
ADA has required the presence of a sign language interpreter.
After the doctor's office, I decide to go shopping and am
able to find a TTY (as required by the ADA) in the mall to
call my family and let them know that I will be a bit late
arriving home. After dinner with my family, I go to [city
meeting] . . . and am able to participate fully . . . because
the ADA allows me to receive the services of a sign language
interpreter. In short, the ADA has had a major impact on
almost every facet of my life.
Waukegan, Illinois
Summary: A 25-year-old social worker who is sight impaired
writes from Waukegan, Illinois. According to her, Title III
of the ADA has allowed her to receive bank statements in
Braille and to balance her checkbook. She is now able to
enjoy a level of privacy that many Americans take for
granted.
Quotation: I now receive my statements in the mail every
month, as do other bank customers. This might seem like a
small victory to some. Obviously such people have never been
denied the ability to read something so personal as a bank
statement.
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Summary: A woman from Las Cruces, New Mexico, uses a
wheelchair and credits the ADA for allowing her to ``pick up
and make a move across the country'' to a new home. She says
that the ADA has given her her life back and made her a
``possibility-thinker'' again.
Quotation: I know that things are made possible for the
disabled now because IT'S THE LAW. We have greater options,
self-respect and better public awareness because of the ADA .
. . My independence and free will are intact.
Texas
Summary with Quotation: A woman from Texas is hearing-
impaired and writes of how the ADA has allowed her to return
to academia. After teaching for 20 years, she was forced to
quit teaching college-level English when she could no longer
hear her students in the classroom. In her words ``it tore my
heart out to give it up.'' Now, because of services for
disabled students required by the ADA, she can attend
literature courses at a university by wearing a headset that
amplifies her professor's voice. In her words, ``[it] was
sheer heaven to be in the classroom again.''
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Summary and Quotations: A man in Glen Ellyn, Illinois who
is sight impaired regards the ADA as ``a necessary civil
rights law.'' Because of the ADA's employment provisions, he
has been able to ask his employer to make materials--such as
benefits information, texts for training courses, and time
sheets--in an alternative format. Because of the ADA's
transportation provisions, he has been able to travel on
public transportation, because bus drivers now call out
individual stops. Because of the ADA's public accommodation
requirements, he is able to order what he wants at
restaurants and to attend hotels and movie theaters
independently.
Brookline, Massachusetts
Summary and Quotations: A hearing-impaired man from
Brookline, Massachusetts, writes to praise the ADA. Having
grown up in Trinidad without the benefits of disability
legislation, he appreciates being able to attend open-
captioned movie theaters, use the Boston subways, which have
visual displays announcing stops, and have access to
interpreting services for work-related meetings and training
sessions. He writes of the ``growing respect'' people give to
individuals with disabilities and ``awareness'' that is
motivated by more than ``just a legal obligation.''
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Summary: A man in Rocky Mount, North Carolina who has been
a paraplegic all his life thanks the ADA for allowing him
``to become as independent as others.'' He now has access to
a variety of school, shopping malls, and sports and
entertainment events. Because of the ADA, he has job
opportunities that he never could have dreamed of growing up.
Quotation: ``When I was growing up I had to go to certain
schools and shopping malls that were accessible. Sports and
entertainment was something you dreamed about, but was never
able to participate in. . . . But now things are different,
thanks to the [ADA] . . . [The ADA] has made us . . . able to
say, ``Don't look at my disability, but look at my ability.'
''
Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Summary: A sight-impaired student in Arkadelphia, Arkansas,
credits the ADA for making her first year at a state
university a ``beautiful experience and resounding success.''
Because the ADA requires colleges to ensure equal access to
educational information, she is able to get a quality college
education.
Quotation: [The ADA] has really helped the disabled people
that are present on our campus to get as good an education as
possible and also to make their college career a beautiful
experience and a resounding success.
South Amboy, New Jersey
Summary: A woman from South Amboy, New Jersey who has
mental, behavioral, and learning disabilities says that the
ADA has made her feel included in community life. Through her
local independent living center, a psycho-social
rehabilitation program, an anger management workshop, and
other support and advocacy groups, she has learned to accept
her disabilities and ``welcome them as a dimension to [her
life].''
[[Page S7640]]
Quotation: Most importantly, I strongly believe that the
ADA is breaking both physical and attitudinal barriers in the
community and society so citizens with all disabilities are
able to live, inclusive, full, productive, and independent
lives.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the ADA, of course, ultimately is about
our children. They will be the first generation to grow up with the
ADA--the first generation in which children with and without
disabilities play together on the playground, learn together in school,
hang out together at the mall and the movie theater, and go out
together for pizza. These children who will grow up as classmates and
friends and neighbors will now see each other as neighbors and
coworkers--no longer segregated. That is what the ADA is about. It has
opened up new worlds for people with disabilities--where people with
disabilities are participating more and more in their communities,
living fuller lives as students, as coworkers, as taxpayers, as
consumers, voters, and neighbors.
But we must never forget that prohibiting discrimination is not the
same as ensuring equal opportunity. President Johnson understood this
when he said: ``[Y]ou cannot shackle men and women for centuries, then
bring them to the starting line of a race and say, `You see, we're
giving you an equal chance.'"
That is why we all work so hard for the Ticket to Work and Work
Incentives Improvement Act because we had to set the stage to change
the employment rate for people with disabilities. That is why we all
work so hard to defend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
because there is no equal opportunity without education.
I am proud that this morning President Clinton announced a new effort
by the Federal Government to open up an additional 100,000 jobs in the
Federal Government for people with disabilities. That is leadership. I
thank President Clinton for providing that leadership.
Again, that is why we have to fight against genetic discrimination.
That is why we have to add people with disabilities to the Hate Crimes
Act that passed the Senate, and to make sure it becomes law.
That is why we have to fight to make sure we don't lose in the
Supreme Court what we gained in Congress. There is a case now pending
before the Supreme Court in which a State has argued that title II of
the ADA which applies to State governments should be held
unconstitutional because the Federal Government does not have the power
to enforce the ADA against the States in the way other civil rights
laws are.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the
basis of race, applies to all the States and State governments. Now a
State is arguing that the ADA, a civil rights law for people with
disabilities, should not apply to States. They are saying: Don't worry.
The State says: Leave it to us. We will make sure that people aren't
subject to employment discrimination. We will make sure that people
aren't forced to live inside institutions or carried up the steps in
order to get into the local courthouse.
Some of us remember after the 1964 civil rights bill was passed that
States were arguing the same thing: Leave it to the States; they will
take care of civil rights; we don't need the Federal Government coming
in.
What I think we are forgetting is that this is a civil rights law
that covers the citizens of America. We are all in this together. We
are talking about citizens'--Federal, national--constitutional rights
to equal protection under the law. It is up to this Federal Congress to
ensure that citizens with disabilities get that equal treatment. That
is why we have title II of the ADA.
In sign language, there is a wonderful sign for America. It is this:
This is the sign for America, all of the fingers put together, joining
the hands in a circle. That describes America for all. We are all
together. We are not separated out. We are all within one circle; a
family--the deaf sign. It is not separate and apart. It is not one
State and another State when it comes to civil rights and ensuring
equal protection of the law. We will not let the Supreme Court rewrite
history and erase civil rights--the national civil rights for people
with disabilities.
Finally, we have to close the digital divide to make sure that people
with disabilities have full access to the new technologies.
Last night, Vice President Gore held a reception at the Vice
President's house for literally hundreds and hundreds of people with
disabilities from all over America. It was a great event to celebrate
the 10th anniversary. In one tent, they set up a wide variety of new
technologies to assist people with disabilities. I was particularly
taken with one new device that had a cathode ray tube, CRT. It was
hooked up to a PC. There was a little device under the net, a CRT that
looked up at your eyes. You sat there for a second and it calibrated
it. With your eye movement alone, you could turn on lights, turn off
lights, make phone calls, talk to people, type letters, get on the
Internet, only by moving your eyes.
Think about what that means for people who have Lou Gehrig's disease
or severe cerebral palsy. There are a lot of disabled people who can't
do anything but move their eyes. But their mind is perfect.
One perfect example that Vice President Gore always uses is Stephen
Hawkins, perhaps the smartest individual in the world, who is fully
immobile because of his disability. Yet here is a machine that will
allow him to more rapidly access information and to write his wonderful
books about the universe. That is what I mean when I say we ought to
close the digital divide because there is so much out there that can
help people with disabilities.
Lastly, I say that the next step we have to do is fight and win
against the continued segregation of people with disabilities from
their own communities. That is why we have to move forward on the bill
called MiCASSA, S. 1935, a bill that is pending in the Senate right
now--the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act--a
bipartisan bill that will eliminate institutional bias in the Federal
Medicaid program and give people with disabilities and the elderly a
real choice to live in their communities. Right now, Medicaid is biased
toward institutionalization.
Why shouldn't we give a person with a disability the right to decide
where he or she wants to live and how they want to live? Let them live
in their own home, in their own community settings. That is what S.
1935 is about. The disability community all over this country
understands personal attendants are sorely needed. No individual should
be forced into an institution just to receive reimbursement for
services that can be effectively and efficiently delivered in the home
of the community. Individuals must be empowered to exercise real choice
in selecting long-term services and supports that meet their unique
needs and allow them to be independent. Federal and State Medicaid
policies should be responsive to and not impede an individual's choice
in selecting services and supports.
This bill eliminates the bias toward institutional care. It would
help deliver services and supports consistent with the principle that
people with disabilities have the right to live in the most integrated
setting appropriate to meeting that individual's unique needs.
In last year's Olmstead decision, the Supreme Court found that to the
extent that Medicaid dollars are used to pay for a person's long-term
care, that person has a civil right to receive those services in the
most integrative settings. Therefore, we in Congress have a
responsibility to help States meet the financial costs associated with
serving people with disabilities who want to leave institutions and
live in the community. MiCASSA, as the bill is known, S. 1935, will
provide that help.
A lot of people say this will cost money. Actually, it will save
money. Medicaid spending on long-term care in 1997 totaled $56 billion,
but only $13.5 billion was spent on home and community-based services.
That $13.5 billion paid for the care of almost 2 million people.
In contrast, the $42.5 billion we spent on institutional care paid
for just a little over 1 million people.
The average annual cost of institutional care for people with
disabilities is more than double the average annual cost of providing
home and community-based services. Right now, all across the country,
hundreds of thousands of people are providing unpaid
[[Page S7641]]
support to sons and daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers,
to allow them to remain in the community. Yet when they turn to the
current long-term care system for relief, all too often all they can do
is add their name to a very long waiting list. That is not right. That
is not just. That is not fair. These family care givers are sacrificing
their own employment opportunities and costing the country millions in
taxable income.
Lastly, I take a moment to remark on the surplus. Lately that is all
we are hearing about is how much surplus we will have over the next 10
years. I hear now it is up to $2 trillion and counting. We have some
very important decisions to make about what we do with the surplus.
Everyone is lining up--tax breaks here, tax cuts here, tax breaks here,
for business, for corporations, for this group, for that group--all
lining up to get some of that surplus.
I believe we have to make some important decisions. I believe we have
to use that money to pay down the debt, shore up Social Security, make
sure that our seniors get what they need under Medicare. With all these
groups lining up to get a piece of the action on the surplus, I am
asking: What about the disability community? What about the Americans
all over our country who want to live in their own communities, who
want supportive services in their homes, who want personal assistance
services so they can go to work every day? I believe we should use some
of that surplus to make sure that all Americans have the equal right to
live in the community--not just in spirit, but in reality.
As I said, our present Medicaid policy has an institutional bias. We
need to use some of this surplus to get people in their own homes and
communities. There may be some transitional cost, but we know later on
when these people start going to work, when their families and the
family care givers who are at home now and underemployed, are employed,
when they go to work they are working, making money, paying taxes.
Yes, when we are talking about what we are going to do with that
surplus, let's not forget we have millions of Americans far too long
segregated, far too long kept out of the main stream of society, far
too long denied their rights as American citizens to full integration
in our society. It is time we do the right thing. It is time when we
make decisions about the surplus, we use some of that to make sure that
people with disabilities are able to live and work and travel as they
want.
ADA may stand for the Americans with Disabilities Act, but it stands
for more than that. It really stands for the American dream for all.
In closing, as I said earlier, my brother, Frank, passed away last
month. I miss him now and I will miss him forever. He was a wonderful
brother to me. He was a great friend. He was my great inspiration. He
was proud of what the ADA meant for people with disabilities. For 10
years he and millions of people across our country lived out its
possibilities. So I thank my brother, Frank. I thank everyone else in
the entire disability community who was an inspiration for me, who
worked so hard for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I include in that many of my fellow Senators and Representatives.
This was never a partisan bill. It is not now a partisan bill. It will
never be a partisan bill. Too many good people on both sides of the
aisle worked hard. Senator Weicker, who led the charge early on, before
I even got to the Senate; Senator Dole, who worked so hard, so long, to
make sure we got ADA through; Boyden Grey, Counsel to the President who
worked with us every step of the way; Attorney General Dick Thornburgh,
what a giant he was, hung in there, day after day, working to make sure
we got it through. On our side of the aisle, Senator Kennedy, who made
sure we had all the hearings, got the people there, made the record, to
ensure that ADA was on solid ground; Tony Coehlo from the House of
Representatives, and Representative Steny Hoyer in the House;
Congressman Steve Bartlett, another great giant, Republican leader in
the House at that time, later on became mayor of Dallas. He was there
this morning, too.
At that time, there weren't Democrat and there weren't
Republicans. We were all in that same boat together, and we were all
pulling together. We were, as I said earlier, Mr. President--the deaf
sign for Americans is this (signing)--all of us together, fingers
intertwined, all of us in that same family circle. That is what ADA is
about. It is about this deaf sign. We are all in this together.
We want to make sure the ADA really does stand for the American dream
for all.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brownback). Under the previous order,
Senator DeWine is recognized.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Ohio will yield
to me, and I ask unanimous consent to be recognized for a few remarks
in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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