[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9624-S9625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING ROBERT ``BOBBY'' SILVERSTEIN

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
life of Robert ``Bobby'' Silverstein, a leader in the disability rights 
movement, who passed away on November 17 from complications from 
cancer.
  Bobby served in a number of roles in the U.S. House of 
Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including as staff director and 
chief counsel for the Subcommittee on Disability Policy of the Senate 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources, now the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions. He drafted, negotiated, and helped pass 
landmark bipartisan legislation, including the Americans with 
Disabilities Act and critical amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Developmental 
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, improving the lives of 
millions of people with disabilities.
  Bobby was an effective leader known for building consensus and his 
dedication to critical analysis and the basic principle of fairness. 
Bobby received dozens of national awards honoring his contributions, 
including the Distinguished Services Award of the President of the 
United States in 1993. Bobby improved the lives of people with 
disabilities by enshrining in Federal law their fundamental rights to 
full participation, equal opportunity, independent living, economic 
self-sufficiency, education, and employment. He has immeasurably shaped 
the disability and civil rights movement for the better, and I join 
former chairs of the HELP Committee in recognizing all of his 
contributions.
  After leaving Congress, Bobby continued to dedicate himself to 
disability

[[Page S9625]]

policy and advocacy. His work has and will continue to make life better 
for so many people with disabilities and families across the country. 
He will be remembered fondly.

                          ____________________