[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 2010

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, today I wish to honor the 20th 
anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990. The law prohibits discrimination by private and public 
institutions toward citizens with disabilities, mandating that any 
entity covered by the law take reasonable steps to make their property, 
lines of communication, and employment accessible to persons with 
disabilities. In the two decades since the law's passage, it has opened 
the door for over 50 million Americans to participate more fully in 
day-to-day activities and to pursue opportunities in society. One out 
of every five American households has a family member who has a 
physical or cognitive disability. This historic bill expanded access to 
physical buildings and countless activities, easing the ability of 
these citizens to go about their daily lives freely without concern 
that they will be denied access to a school, shopping center, business, 
or communication device. Access is a freedom that everyone should 
enjoy, and I am proud to celebrate two decades of a law designed to 
promote this freedom for so many. I am proud that many of the 
accommodations that resulted from this law are considered commonplace 
now.
  My Congressional District has long supported the efforts to promote 
equal civil rights. Chicago has been a leader in the movement to 
improve the livelihood of Americans with disabilities. For example, the 
Chicago Transit System has implemented a comprehensive policy of 
equality by making 100 percent of the public buses wheel chair 
accessible, as well as improving service to meet the needs of the 
hearing impaired and the blind.
  There is still more that we must do to promote equal rights for 
persons with disabilities. The recent health care law included an 
important step forward with the inclusion of the Community First Choice 
Option, which allows States to include within their Medicaid State 
Plans an option to receive community-based services for individuals 
with disabilities who are eligible for nursing homes and other 
institutional settings. The Community First Choice Option gives people 
the choice to leave facilities and institutions for their own homes and 
communities with appropriate, cost effective services and supports. We 
must continue to work to encourage States to make this option a 
reality. We also must continue to work to make choice for receiving 
care in one's community mandatory at the federal level via passage of 
the Community Choice Act. We should build on the precedent set two 
decades ago with the enactment of the ADA by giving Americans with 
disabilities the freedom to choose where they live.
  Equality is a founding principle of our country. It has been an 
arduous process for many groups of people--from the Emancipation 
Proclamation to the Nineteenth Amendment for women's suffrage to the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
was another milestone in equality for our Nation. Thousands of 
individuals worked in earnest to make this law possible, and thousands 
continue to champion this law's implementation. For these efforts, we 
honor the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the revolutionary bill.

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