[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 156 (Tuesday, September 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4682-S4683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 361--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE REHABILITATION 
 ACT OF 1973 ON THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND CALLING 
   FOR FURTHER ACTION TO ADVANCE ACCESS, OPPORTUNITY, AND EQUITY FOR 
                     INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

  Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
Fetterman, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Warren, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Van Hollen, and 
Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 361

       Whereas September 26, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of 
     the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 
     et seq.);
       Whereas, with the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 
     1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the discrimination faced by 
     individuals with disabilities was recognized as systemic, 
     rather than as an experience of the individual;
       Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.) was modeled on anti-discrimination laws on the basis of 
     race and sex;
       Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.) recognized individuals with disabilities as a class of 
     people subject to discrimination based on the identity 
     individuals with disabilities share;
       Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to enact 
     legislation to address the civil rights of individuals with 
     disabilities;
       Whereas Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 701 et seq.), which President Richard Nixon signed 
     into law on September 26, 1973;
       Whereas, in enacting the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 701 et seq.), Congress, for the first time, addressed 
     the civil rights of individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.) expanded employment opportunities and further advanced 
     independent living for individuals with disabilities through 
     improvements to vocational rehabilitation services;
       Whereas section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 791)--
       (1) prohibits discrimination against individuals with 
     disabilities in Federal employment and has resulted in the 
     Federal Government benefitting from the efforts of the nearly 
     10 percent of the Federal workforce who have disabilities; 
     and
       (2) requires Federal agencies to establish an affirmative 
     action program for the hiring, placement, and advancement of 
     individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 793) prohibits Federal contractors from discriminating 
     in employment against individuals with disabilities and 
     requires employers take affirmative actions to recruit, hire, 
     promote, and retain individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 796 et seq.) established the Independent Living 
     Services and Centers of Independent Living programs to 
     promote the independence, self-determination, equal access, 
     and leadership of individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 794) prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
     disability in all federally assisted programs or activities 
     and laid the foundation for the passage of the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
       Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 794) has impacted access to and equity in healthcare, 
     education, community living, employment opportunities, 
     housing, transportation, electronic information and 
     technology, and all other facets of life for individuals with 
     disabilities;
       Whereas, on April 28, 1977, nearly 4 years after the 
     enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et 
     seq.), disability rights activists secured implementation of 
     the rights established under that Act after leading sit-ins 
     of Federal buildings across the United States;
       Whereas section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
     U.S.C. 794d), an important addition made to the Act in 1986 
     and expanded in 1998, improves the information and 
     communications technology of Federal agencies to be 
     accessible to individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation 
     Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), individuals with 
     disabilities still experience discrimination and barriers 
     that interfere with their full participation in economic and 
     social life in the United States; and
       Whereas, 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation 
     Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Act remains a 
     critical law in advancing access, opportunity, and equity for 
     individuals with disabilities, especially in historically 
     underserved communities, and in meeting the goals of full 
     participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and 
     economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of access, opportunity, and 
     equity for individuals with disabilities, made possible by 
     the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
     701 et seq.);
       (2) encourages individuals of the United States to 
     celebrate the advancements made possible by the enactment of 
     the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
       (3) pledges to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to 
     address access and equity barriers that remain for 
     individuals with disabilities, particularly multimarginalized 
     individuals, including Black, indigenous, and other people of 
     color, immigrants, LBGTQ people, low-income individuals, and 
     people living in rural and underserved areas;

[[Page S4683]]

       (4) pledges to continue to work with State and local 
     educational agencies to provide equal access to a free 
     appropriate public education for all students with 
     disabilities, including individuals with disabilities with 
     multimarginalized identities;
       (5) pledges to continue to work with public health and 
     health care delivery systems to address health care 
     disparities and inadequate services for individuals with 
     disabilities, from preventive care to home and community-
     based services;
       (6) calls on Federal agencies to improve equal employment 
     opportunities for workers with disabilities in the Federal 
     sector through recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention 
     initiatives; and
       (7) calls on the Department of Justice and the General 
     Services Administration to improve their enforcement of, and 
     oversight and compliance with, section 508 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).

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