[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 32 (Thursday, February 17, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 29--RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO IMPROVE 
 PHYSICAL ACCESS TO MANY FEDERALLY FUNDED FACILITIES FOR ALL PEOPLE OF 
        THE UNITED STATES, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. Brown, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Casey, Ms. 
Hassan, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Duckworth, and Mrs. Murray) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                            S. Con. Res. 29

       Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution prevents 
     Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of 
     religion, prohibiting the free exercise of religion, or 
     abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, 
     the right to peaceably assemble, or to petition for a 
     governmental redress of grievances, and was adopted on 
     December 15, 1791, as 1 of the 10 amendments that constitute 
     the Bill of Rights;
       Whereas the Bill of Rights, specifically the First 
     Amendment to the Constitution, calls for the right of all 
     persons to peaceably assemble, and to this end, all persons, 
     regardless of their physical ability, shall be offered equal 
     opportunity to access all federally funded, in whole or part, 
     amenities;
       Whereas, in the 32 years since the signing of the Americans 
     with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) (in 
     this preamble referred to as the ``ADA''), there have been 
     unprecedented advances in all forms of technology;
       Whereas, in 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and 
     Prevention found that 1 in 4 adults, or 61,000,000 people, 
     have a disability;
       Whereas disability is a universal concern, as an aging 
     population increases the incidence of frailty and disability;
       Whereas, as significant advances in medical treatment 
     result in increased survival rates, the incidence of 
     disability increases;
       Whereas, in 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 
     4,700,000 veterans received service-related disability 
     benefits;
       Whereas, in 2019, the percentage of working-age people in 
     the United States who reported having a work limitation due 
     to a disability was 10.1 percent;
       Whereas the Act entitled ``An Act to insure that certain 
     buildings financed with Federal funds are so designed and 
     constructed as to be accessible to the physically 
     handicapped'', approved August 12, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4151 et 
     seq.) (commonly known as the Architectural Barriers Act of 
     1968), was enacted to ensure that certain federally funded 
     facilities are designed and constructed to be accessible to 
     people with disabilities;
       Whereas the United States Access Board (in this preamble 
     referred to as the ``Board'') is in the process of developing 
     new guidelines for public rights-of-way that will address 
     various issues, including access for blind pedestrians at 
     street crossings, wheelchair access to on-street parking, and 
     various constraints posed by space limitations, roadway 
     design practices, slope, and terrain;
       Whereas the Board's new guidelines, when finalized, will 
     cover pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including 
     crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, pedestrian 
     signals, parking, and other components of public rights-of-
     way;
       Whereas the Board's aim in developing these guidelines is 
     to ensure that access for persons with disabilities is 
     provided wherever a pedestrian way is newly built or altered, 
     and that the same degree of convenience, connection, and 
     safety afforded the public generally is available to 
     pedestrians with disabilities;
       Whereas once these guidelines are adopted by the Department 
     of Justice, they will become enforceable standards under 
     title II of the ADA; and
       Whereas the United States was founded on principles of 
     equality and freedom, and these principles require that all 
     people, including people with disabilities, are able to 
     engage as equal members of society: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes that people with disabilities in the United 
     States experience barriers to access on a daily basis;
       (2) reaffirms its support of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     insure that certain buildings financed with Federal funds are 
     so designed and constructed as to be accessible to the 
     physically handicapped'', approved August 12, 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
     4151 et seq.) (commonly known as the Architectural Barriers 
     Act of 1968), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and encourages full compliance 
     with such Acts; and
       (3) pledges to make universal and inclusive design a 
     guiding principle for all infrastructure bills and projects 
     and will continue working to identify and remove the barriers 
     that prevent all people of the United States from having 
     equal access to the services provided by the Federal 
     Government.

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