[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 169 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6822-S6823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 676--TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL 
                 DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 676

       Whereas, in 1945, Congress passed the Joint Resolution of 
     August 11, 1945 (59 Stat. 530, chapter 363), to establish the 
     first week in October of each year as ``National Employ the 
     Physically Handicapped Week'';
       Whereas, in 1988, Congress passed the Handicapped Programs 
     Technical Amendments Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-630; 102 
     Stat. 3289), which designated October of each year as 
     ``National Disability Employment Awareness Month'';
       Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention, approximately 61,000,000 people in the United 
     States have a disability;
       Whereas, among people with disabilities in the United 
     States, 33 percent participate in the workforce;
       Whereas the unemployment rate for people with a disability 
     is higher than for people without a disability across all 
     educational attainment groups;
       Whereas community-based, integrated employment at 
     competitive wages is a human right and vital to economic 
     self-sufficiency in the United States;
       Whereas Employment First is a national movement, supported 
     by the Department of Labor, that supports the belief that all 
     people, including people with significant disabilities, are 
     capable of full participation in competitive integrated 
     employment and community living;
       Whereas, under Employment First policies, State and Federal 
     systems align services, incentives, and policies for youth 
     and adults with disabilities to lead to community-based, 
     integrated employment at competitive wages;
       Whereas, when provided the accommodations and support they 
     need, people with disabilities as a group are capable of 
     performing virtually any job in the United States;
       Whereas Congress has enacted laws to ensure people with 
     disabilities are not discriminated against in employment, 
     have access to supports and services to find and keep a job, 
     and are entitled to accommodations in the workplace, 
     including--
       (1) in 1973, when Congress enacted the Rehabilitation Act 
     of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), a landmark civil rights law 
     that--
       (A) prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability 
     in employment by the Federal Government and Federal 
     contractors;
       (B) requires the Federal Government and Federal contractors 
     to engage in affirmative action to promote the employment and 
     advancement of people with disabilities; and
       (C) established programs administered by the Rehabilitation 
     Services Administration of the Department of Education, 
     including vocational rehabilitative services administered by 
     State agencies;
       (2) in 1975, when Congress enacted the Education for All 
     Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142; 89 Stat. 
     773), later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), that requires public 
     schools to provide all eligible children with disabilities a 
     free appropriate public education in the least restrictive 
     environment, including services to assist students with 
     disabilities as those students transition from high school to 
     higher education or the workforce;
       (3) in 1990, when Congress enacted the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), a 
     landmark civil rights law that prohibits employment 
     discrimination against qualified individuals with 
     disabilities, mandates reasonable accommodations in the 
     workplace, and requires public entities to provide services 
     (including employment services) in the most integrated 
     setting;
       (4) in 2008, when Congress enacted the Genetic Information 
     Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 2000ff et seq.), a 
     landmark civil rights law that prohibits employment 
     discrimination on the basis of genetic information;
       (5) in 2014, when Congress enacted the Workforce Innovation 
     and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) to strengthen 
     and improve the workforce system of the United States to 
     better support people with disabilities by--
       (A) focusing on increasing competitive integrated 
     employment for people with disabilities;
       (B) limiting the use of discriminatory subminimum wages; 
     and
       (C) requiring that 15 percent of vocational rehabilitation 
     funds be used to help people with disabilities transition 
     from high school to higher education or the workforce;
       (6) in 2014, when Congress extended the work opportunity 
     tax credit program to encourage the hiring of people with 
     disabilities referred by vocational rehabilitation agencies; 
     and
       (7) in 2018, when Congress reauthorized the Carl D. Perkins 
     Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et 
     seq.) to increase the focus on and funding for recruiting and 
     supporting individuals with disabilities through career and 
     technical education;
       Whereas the Federal Government is the largest employer in 
     the United States and has taken steps to increase 
     recruitment, hiring, and retention of people with 
     disabilities in the Federal workforce, including when--
       (1) on July 26, 2000, President William J. Clinton issued 
     Executive Order 13163 (29 U.S.C. 791 note; relating to 
     increasing the opportunity for individuals with disabilities 
     to

[[Page S6823]]

     be employed in the Federal Government), which set the goal 
     for the Federal Government to hire 100,000 people with 
     disabilities over 5 years, including individuals with 
     targeted disabilities;
       (2) on July 26, 2010, President Barack Obama issued 
     Executive Order 13548 (29 U.S.C. 791 note; relating to 
     increasing Federal employment of individuals with 
     disabilities), which directed the Federal Government to take 
     additional steps to achieve the hiring goals of Executive 
     Order 13163 (29 U.S.C. 791 note; relating to increasing the 
     opportunity for individuals with disabilities to be employed 
     in the Federal Government), including--
       (A) directing the Office of Personnel Management to design 
     model recruitment and hiring strategies for Federal agencies 
     to increase the employment of people with disabilities; and
       (B) directing each Federal agency to develop a plan for 
     that agency for promoting employment opportunities for people 
     with disabilities, with--
       (i) performance measures and numerical goals for the 
     employment of individuals with disabilities and targeted 
     disabilities; and
       (ii) a focus on the retention of employees with 
     disabilities;
       (3) on August 18, 2011, President Barack Obama issued 
     Executive Order 13583 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating to 
     establishing a coordinated government-wide initiative to 
     promote diversity and inclusion in the Federal workforce), 
     which prompted the Office of Personnel Management to 
     encourage the use of Schedule A hiring authority for people 
     with disabilities, conduct barrier analyses, and support 
     Special Emphasis Programs to promote diversity in the 
     workforce;
       (4) on May 14, 2015, President Barack Obama issued 
     Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. Reg. 9851; relating to 
     establishing a minimum wage for contractors (February 20, 
     2014)), which required certain Federal Government contractors 
     to pay the same minimum wage to workers with disabilities as 
     all other workers;
       (5) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in 
     implementing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.), required Federal agencies to set hiring and workforce 
     goals for people with specific disabilities that are 
     associated with high rates of unemployment and 
     underemployment;
       (6) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission created the 
     Leadership for the Employment of Americans with Disabilities 
     (or ``LEAD'') Initiative to encourage Federal agencies to 
     recruit, hire, and promote people with severe disabilities; 
     and
       (7) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs of 
     the Department of Labor, in implementing the Rehabilitation 
     Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), established a nationwide 
     7 percent utilization goal for Federal contractors employing 
     people with disabilities;
       Whereas some private employers see disability employment 
     not only as a civil rights issue but also as a smart business 
     strategy, and have recruited employees with disabilities;
       Whereas employing people with disabilities increases the 
     diversity of the workforce;
       Whereas employers with diverse workforces have been found 
     to have an advantage over competitors;
       Whereas Employment First policies, the laws Congress has 
     enacted, actions by Executive agencies, and actions by some 
     private companies have increased the employment of people 
     with disabilities, which has, in part, resulted in 26 
     consecutive months of improvement in disability employment in 
     the period between March 2016 and May 2018; and
       Whereas, despite progress, unemployment and underemployment 
     of workers with disabilities remains high: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of National Disability 
     Employment Awareness Month;
       (2) urges Congressional offices, Federal Executive 
     agencies, State and local government employers, and private 
     employers to redouble their efforts to increase employment of 
     people with disabilities; and
       (3) encourages individuals, employers, cities, counties, 
     and States to observe National Disability Employment 
     Awareness Month with appropriate programs and activities that 
     increase the recruitment, hiring, and retention of people 
     with disabilities to the workforce.

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