[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 121 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5515-S5516]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 772--RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT LIVING 
 AND ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES MADE 
POSSIBLE BY THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 AND CALLING FOR 
 FURTHER ACTION TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS 
      WITH DISABILITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN WORK AND COMMUNITY LIFE

  Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
Padilla, Mr. Reed, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Smith, Mr. Welch, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Van 
Hollen, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Booker, Ms. Butler, Ms. Cantwell, 
Mr. Coons, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
King, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, 
Mr. Merkley, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Peters, Mr. Brown, and Mr. 
Bennet) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 772

       Whereas, in enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
     1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), Congress recognized that 
     ``historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate 
     individuals with disabilities, and, despite some 
     improvements, such forms of discrimination against 
     individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and 
     pervasive social problem'';
       Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
     recognizes the rights of individuals with disabilities to 
     fully participate in their communities through independent 
     living, equality of opportunity, and economic self-
     sufficiency;
       Whereas, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the 
     Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and 25 years after 
     the date of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 
     States in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), individuals 
     with disabilities are faced with systemic ableism in the 
     labor market, are pushed into poverty by lower rates of 
     employment, and have higher costs of living associated with 
     their disabilities;
       Whereas, 34 years after the date of the enactment of the 
     Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990--
       (1) nearly a quarter of the population of individuals with 
     disabilities live below the poverty line;
       (2) individuals with disabilities continue to face high 
     rates of unemployment and barriers to accessible workplaces;
       (3) women with disabilities continue to regularly face 
     barriers to reproductive healthcare, including inaccessible 
     and inequitable services;
       (4) some telecommunication, electronic, and information 
     technologies continue to be developed without the goal of 
     making those technologies fully accessible for all 
     individuals of the United States; and
       (5) many businesses, public and private organizations, 
     transportation systems, and services remain inaccessible to 
     many individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas the continuation of segregated institutional 
     settings has hindered the inclusion of individuals with 
     disabilities in communities, schools, and workplaces, 
     undermining the promise of the Americans with Disabilities 
     Act of 1990;
       Whereas individuals with disabilities, especially those of 
     color, have been disparately impacted by the lingering 
     effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number of 
     individuals with disabilities has increased due to Long 
     COVID;
       Whereas individuals with disabilities are more at risk for 
     loss of life, loss of independence, or violation of civil 
     rights than the general population during disaster, response, 
     and recovery;
       Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience 
     disproportionately greater barriers to high quality and 
     accessible healthcare, education, housing, and competitive 
     integrated employment opportunities, infringing on their 
     right to fully participate in their communities under the 
     Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990;
       Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
     represents the floor, and not the ceiling, of efforts needed 
     to dismantle barriers to full participation, equal 
     opportunity, independent living, and economic self-
     sufficiency; and
       Whereas fulfilling the promise of the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990 requires individuals, families, 
     communities, and government to work together to guarantee 
     that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to 
     thrive in their communities and in their lives: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of independent living, equal 
     opportunity, full participation, and economic self-
     sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible 
     by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
     1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
       (2) encourages the people of the United States to celebrate 
     the advancement of inclusion and equality of opportunity made 
     possible by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities 
     Act of 1990;
       (3) pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to 
     identify and address the remaining barriers that undermine 
     the national goals of equality of opportunity, independent 
     living, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for 
     individuals with disabilities, including by focusing on 
     individuals with disabilities who remain segregated in 
     institutions;
       (4) pledges to work with States to improve access to home- 
     and community-based services for individuals with 
     disabilities, with a focus on increasing access to 
     employment;
       (5) calls on the Department of Labor to develop policies 
     and practices and to provide technical assistance that 
     enables individuals with disabilities to become economically 
     self-sufficient;
       (6) calls on the Office of Disability Employment Policy of 
     the Department of Labor to coordinate with employers and all 
     levels of government to develop and influence policies and 
     practices that increase the number and quality of employment 
     opportunities for individuals with disabilities;
       (7) calls on the Federal Communications Commission to 
     provide information, resources, and technical assistance to 
     enable individuals with disabilities to have full and 
     equitable access to communications and telecommunications 
     services and technologies;
       (8) calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to 
     provide information, resources, and technical assistance 
     related to home- and community-based services and to enable 
     individuals with disabilities to live independently;
       (9) calls on the Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development to provide accessible and inclusive homes and 
     communities that increase the options available for 
     accessible, inclusive, and equitable housing for individuals 
     with disabilities;
       (10) calls on the Department of Transportation to create 
     accessible transit and airports and increase the hiring, 
     promotion, and retention of individuals with disabilities in 
     the transportation workforce; and
       (11) calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 
     continue to implement a whole community approach and to 
     increase inclusivity and accessibility in emergency 
     preparedness.

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