[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Americans with Disabilities Act

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I do thank the Senator from Delaware for 
bailing me out, as we sometimes say in Iowa.
  I have two reasons for speaking this morning. No. 1, very shortly, 
this week is the 30th year of the Americans with Disabilities Act as 
the law of the land. There are plenty of reasons to recognize that law 
for the landmark that it is and how it has helped people advance in our 
society and get more equality, but also, I do it because a former 
colleague of mine from Iowa, Senator Tom Harkin, working along with 
Senator Bob Dole, worked really hard to get this landmark civil rights 
legislation signed into law. Since that day, America has continued to 
improve opportunities, inclusion, and access for individuals who live 
with disabilities.
  As my colleagues and I work to defeat the virus, heal the racial 
divide, lower prescription drug prices, and restore the U.S. economy, 
let's take a lesson from the passage of the ADA, very much a 
cooperative relationship between Republicans and Democrats. Let's work 
together in good faith and work out our differences for the good of the 
American people--whether it was the Americans with Disabilities Act or, 
now, efforts to beat the virus and get the economy going.