[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1392]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          12TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 25, 2002

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 12th 
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  Twelve years ago, people from across the country gathered to 
celebrate the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 
one of the Nation's landmark civil rights laws since the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964. The ADA opened up the true promise of America to people 
with disabilities who, for decades have been held back--not by a 
wheelchair and a flight of insurmountable stairs--but by simple public 
ignorance.
  Because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with 
disabilities are gaining equal access to public sector services. The 
public sector has rallied to the ADA's goals and states and local 
govenunents have developed some of the most innovative and meaningful 
responses to the ADA.
  As a result of this important civil rights law, employers now provide 
a range of adjustment measures to ensure that employees with 
disabilities can keep their place in the job market, resulting in 
unprecedented economic opportunities for our disabled population.
  ADA has torn down barriers that prevented people with disabilities 
from getting access to education, the job market, and simply living 
their daily lives.
  As I reflect on our accomplishments here in Congress since I started 
to serve my constituents as a member in 1986, this is one of the pieces 
of legislation, I am most proud of. The Americans with Disabilities Act 
is a historic example of Congress being true to our centuries-old 
heritage of freedom and equal opportunity.
  This landmark legislation took more than 2 years to pass because even 
in the halls of Congress, there were hurdles of ignorance to overcome. 
The ADA itself was born of one man's determination to break down the 
barriers which had diverted his career plans and caused him to 
reevaluate his dreams throughout his life. My former colleague in the 
House of Representatives and original author of the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, Tony Coelho, didn't grow up wanting to be a Member of 
Congress. But he did grow up with epilepsy. As a youth Tony wanted to 
be a clergyman, but he was kept back because of public ignorance about 
his disability.
  They say that God works in strange and mysterious ways. Tony Coelho's 
first dreams were shattered by discrimination, but this was, in fact, a 
blessing for the entire nation. Tony would go on to write the most 
comprehensive anti-discrimination bill for persons with disabilities in 
United States history. What more proof do we need that someone with a 
disability can be one of the most able people our nation has ever seen?
  When Congress passed and the President signed the Americans with 
Disabilities Act, we implemented what is, in effect, a 20th century 
Emancipation Proclamation for the estimated 43 million Americans who 
have some type of physical or mental disability. For the first time in 
history, these individuals were guaranteed their rights to explore the 
full range of their talents, ability, and creativity.
  By outlawing discrimination against disabled persons in employment, 
transportation, public accommodations and telecommunications, the ADA 
guarantees to persons with disabilities the same rights which most of 
us in this chamber take for granted--the right to go to their 
neighborhood grocery store, attend a movie, eat in the local diner, 
hold a job, ride a city bus, or simply talk on the telephone.
  Pre-existing laws and federal regulations under the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973 have been effective, but only so far as the policies of the 
government, its contractors, and recipients of federal funds have been 
concerned. These laws left all other areas of American life untouched.
  Many young Americans who have benefitted from the equal educational 
opportunity guaranteed under the 1973 law and the Education of the 
Handicapped Act, have found themselves on graduation day facing a 
closed door to the mainstream of American life. For years, generations 
of disabled Americans have been turned away at movie theatres, refused 
tables at restaurants, left stranded in wheelchairs at bus stops and 
denied meaningful employment opportunities.
  As a cosponsor of the landmark ADA bill and as a legislator who has 
worked closely with the disabled since the mid-1970s, I am proud of the 
fact that the ADA broke down barriers and helped to correct these 
demeaning disadvantages.
  I am also proud of my community's early acceptance of individuals 
with disabilities, especially the deaf. Rochester is home to the 
National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the first city in the 
city to broadcast News for the Deaf each weekday.
  The Declaration of Independence gave voice to the fundamental 
principles upon which this nation would grow to greatness--life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Twelve years ago the Americans 
with Disabilities Act reaffirmed these sacred principles for millions 
and millions of United States citizens who have had to suffer 
unjustified segregation and exclusion.

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