[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S995-S996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 86--RECOMMITTING THE UNITED STATES TO THE PROMOTION 
 OF DISABILITY RIGHTS AND TO THE VALUES ENSHRINED IN THE PROLOGUE ROOM 
OF THE FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 
   AND RECOGNIZING THE ENDURING CONTRIBUTIONS THAT INDIVIDUALS WITH 
DISABILITIES HAVE MADE THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND 
THE ROLE OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY IN THE ONGOING STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL 
          RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Ms. DUCKWORTH submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:

                               S. Res. 86

       Whereas the Prologue Room of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt 
     Memorial (referred to in this preamble as the ``Memorial''), 
     which prominently displays a statue, sculpted by Robert 
     Graham, of the 32nd President of the United States in a 
     wheelchair, was dedicated on January 10, 2001, by President 
     Bill Clinton;
       Whereas the dedication of the Prologue Room, a critically 
     important addition to the Memorial because of its 
     historically accurate depiction of the disability of 
     President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, occurred 4 years after 
     the initial dedication of the Memorial;
       Whereas the dedication of the Prologue Room was the 
     culmination of a 6-year campaign led by the disability 
     community to ensure that future generations knew that 
     President Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the United States 
     during the Great Depression and World War II while using a 
     wheelchair;
       Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became 
     paralyzed at the age of 39, became a wheelchair user, and 
     never took another step unassisted after acquiring his 
     disability;
       Whereas, at the dedication ceremony for the Prologue Room 
     in 2001, President Bill Clinton said, ``This is a monument to 
     freedom . . . . The power of the statue is in its immediacy, 
     and in its reminder to all who touch, all who see, all who 
     walk or wheel around, that they, too, are free, but every 
     person must claim freedom'';
       Whereas individuals with disabilities have always been 
     integral to the civil rights movement in the United States, 
     and the ongoing fight of the disability community for equal 
     rights and opportunities in the United States continues as 
     individuals throughout the United States strive to build ``a 
     more perfect Union'';
       Whereas the campaign to create the Prologue Room with a 
     statue of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a wheelchair 
     was led by Michael R. Deland, then-Chairman of the National 
     Organization on Disability, Alan A. Reich, founder and then-
     President of the National Organization on Disability, and 
     James Dickson, who directed the grassroots campaign for the 
     addition of the wheelchair statue;
       Whereas former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and 
     George H.W. Bush sent letters of support for the addition of 
     the disability representation at the Memorial;
       Whereas 16 grandchildren of President Franklin Delano 
     Roosevelt issued a letter on April 8, 1997, stating, ``The 
     public's interest is in learning about those dramatically 
     challenging times and about the courage, strength and 
     determination of the man who led the country and the world in 
     overcoming great odds, and in becoming the single greatest 
     example for democracy, freedom, and enterprise in the history 
     of the world. It would be a disservice to history and the 
     public's interest if the impact of polio on the man were to 
     be hidden. The goal of the FDR Memorial must be to enable 
     future generations to understand the whole man and the events 
     and experiences that helped to shape his character.'';
       Whereas, as of the date of adoption of this resolution, the 
     Memorial is impacted by deferred maintenance and 
     accessibility issues;
       Whereas the Great American Outdoors Act (Public Law 116-
     152; 134 Stat. 682) was signed into law on August 4, 2020, to 
     address the deferred maintenance at National Park Service 
     sites, including the Memorial;
       Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.) states that no qualified individual with a disability 
     shall, solely by reason of disability, ``be excluded from the 
     participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected 
     to discrimination under any program or activity receiving 
     Federal financial assistance'';
       Whereas the primarily artistic braille renderings at the 
     Memorial are inaccessible to blind and low-vision visitors, 
     the very individuals that braille is intended to serve;
       Whereas accessible signs and placards for blind and low-
     vision visitors--
       (1) are not a permanent feature incorporated into the 
     Memorial; and
       (2) do not sufficiently bridge the accessibility gap; and

       Whereas providing a library of expanded accessible 
     materials to support the educational experience of all 
     visitors, both physically at the Memorial site and virtually, 
     would work to enhance the legacy of President Franklin Delano 
     Roosevelt's disability and the community: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls on the United States to recommit itself to the 
     promotion of disability rights and to the values enshrined in 
     the Prologue Room at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial 
     (referred to in this resolution as the ``Memorial''), at home 
     and abroad, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 
     dedication of the Prologue Room;
       (2) recognizes the important work of the disability 
     community, and the historic campaign championed by that 
     community, that led to the expansion of the Memorial to 
     include a statue that clearly and visibly depicts President 
     Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a wheelchair; and
       (3) calls on the National Park Service and the National 
     Park Foundation, a congressionally chartered nonprofit 
     organization--
       (A) to continue to increase access to the Memorial for 
     individuals with disabilities, as required by law, including 
     through the installation of tactile braille on signs and 
     placards as specified in the document of the National Library 
     Service for the Blind and Print Disabled of the Library of 
     Congress entitled ``Specification 800:2014 Braille Book and 
     Pamphlets'' and dated October 2014; and
       (B) to support the development of accessible educational 
     materials to ensure awareness is raised about the history of 
     the Memorial and disability rights.

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