[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16335-16339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask the indulgence of the Senate to do 
something that I did 10 years ago; that is, to recognize the 10th 
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by doing what I did 
on the floor 10 years ago. I will do a little bit of sign language with 
respect to that.
  (Signing.)
  Mr. President, what I just said in sign language was that 10 years 
ago I stood on the floor of the Senate and spoke in sign language when 
we passed the Americans with Disabilities Act. The reason I did that 
was because my brother Frank was my inspiration for all of my work here 
in Congress on disability law.
  That was the reason that I became the chief sponsor of the Americans 
With Disabilities Act. I further said that I was sorry to say that my 
brother passed away last month. Over the last 10 years, he always said 
me that he was sorry the ADA was not there for him when he was growing 
up, but that he was happy that it was here now for young people so they 
would have a better future. Mr. President, we do celebrate today the 
tenth anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which has 
taken its place as one of the greatest civil rights laws in our 
history.
  When you think about it, ten years ago, on July 25, 1990, a person 
with a disability saw an ad in the paper for a job for which that 
person was qualified, and went down to the business to interview for 
the job. The prospective employer could look at that person and say: we 
don't hire people like you, get out of here. On July 25, 1990, that 
person was alone. The courthouse door was closed. There was no recourse 
for that person because there was no ban on discrimination because of 
disability. We banned it on the basis of race, sex, religion, national 
origin, but not disability. So on July 25, 1990, a person with a 
disability held the short end of the stick.
  But one day later, on July 26, 1990, the courthouse doors were 
opened. A person with a disability could now go down to that courthouse 
and enforce his or her civil rights. On July 26th, that one person who 
was alone the day before became 54 million people, and now that short 
end of the stick became a powerful club by which a disabled American 
could defend his or her rights.
  Ten years ago, we as a Nation committed ourselves to the principle 
that a disability does not eliminate a person's right to participate in 
the cultural, economic, educational, political and social mainstream. 
Ten years ago, we said no to exclusion, no to dependence, no to 
segregation. We said yes to inclusion, yes to independence, and yes to 
integration in our society to people with disabilities. That is what 
the ADA is all about.
  For me, the ADA, as I have just said, was a lot about my brother 
Frank. He lost his hearing at an early age. Then he was taken from his 
home, his family and his community and sent across the State to the 
Iowa State school for the deaf. People often referred to it as the 
school for the ``deaf and dumb.'' I remember one time my brother 
telling me, ``I may be deaf, but I am not dumb.''

[[Page 16336]]

  While at school, Frank was told he could be one of three things: a 
cobbler, a printers assistant, or a baker. When he said he didn't want 
to be any one of those things. They said, OK, you are a baker. So after 
he got out of school, he became a baker. But that is not what he wanted 
to do. So he went on to do other things, obviously.
  Everyday tasks were always hard. I remember, as a young boy, going 
with my older brother Frank to a store and how the sales person, when 
she found out that he was deaf, looked through him like he was 
invisible and turned to me to ask me what he wanted; or how when he 
wanted to get a driver's license, he was told that ``deaf people don't 
drive.'' So his life was not easy because the deck was stacked against 
him. He truly held the short end of the stick.
  I remember when my brother finally changed jobs. He got out of baking 
and got a job at a plant in Des Moines. He had a good job at Delavan's. 
Mr. Delavan decided he wanted to hire people with disabilities, and so 
my brother went to work there. He had a great job. He became a drill 
press operator making jet nozzles for jet engines. He was very proud of 
his work. Later on, I was in the Navy, in the military. I remember when 
I came home on leave for Christmas, and I was unmarried at the time. I 
came home to spend it with my brother Frank, who was also unmarried, 
and the company he worked for had a Christmas dinner. So I went with my 
brother to it, not knowing that anything special was going to happen. 
It turned out that they were honoring Frank that night, because in 10 
years of working there he had not missed one day of work and hadn't 
been late once. Mr. President, that is during Iowa winters. So, again, 
that is an indication of just how hard-working and dedicated people 
with disabilities are when they do get a job. He worked at that plant 
for 23 years, and in 23 years he missed 3 days of work. And that was 
because of an unusual blizzard.
  Another little funny aside. In ADA, we mandated a nationwide relay 
system for the deaf, so that a deaf person could call a hearing person, 
and a hearing person could call a deaf person without having to use the 
TTY. One of the first calls made on the nationwide relay system was 
from the White House in 1993, when President Clinton put in a call to 
my brother Frank. We had it all set up. President Clinton called the 
number, and the line was busy. All the national press was there and 
everything. He waited a few seconds and the line was busy again. It was 
busy three or four times. Finally, I called my neighbor in Cumming, 
Iowa, and I said, ``Go over and find out what is going on.'' My brother 
was so excited that he had been on the phone talking to his friends. He 
forgot that the President was going to call him. President Clinton 
related that story at the FDR memorial this morning in celebration of 
the Americans With Disabilities Act and reminded me again of what the 
ADA was all about. As President Clinton so eloquently said this 
morning, it is about ensuring that every American can just do ordinary 
things, such as use the phone, go shopping, use public transportation. 
It is also about ensuring that every American has access to resources 
as fundamental as health insurance, a job, an education--things that we 
take for granted.
  The ADA is about designing our policies and physical environment so 
that we as a Nation can benefit from the talent of every citizen. It is 
about acknowledging that it costs much more to squander the potential 
of millions of people than to make the modest accommodations that let 
all Americans contribute fully. It is about tearing down the false 
dichotomy of abled and disabled, and realizing that each of us has a 
unique set of abilities.
  Mr. President, a few weeks ago, in anticipation of this tenth 
anniversary celebration of ADA, I announced ``A Day in the Life of the 
ADA Campaign.'' I asked people from across America to send stories 
about how their lives are different because of ADA. I wanted to find 
out just what the ADA meant to other people in ordinary life.
  Based on these stories, I have learned that the ADA is truly changing 
the face of America.
  A woman from Vinton, Iowa who uses a wheelchair wrote to tell me that 
because of the ADA, she now can travel around the country. She said:

       You can't understand until you've been there, searching for 
     a hotel room, a restroom to stop in, a room to accommodate 
     you, your spouse and your wheelchair. Oh, the joy of now 
     knowing there are rest areas where we can stop, enter in 
     without great difficulty, and then travel on to a waiting 
     accessible motel room! What a good feeling to call ahead, 
     make reservations and know that when we arrive there we'd 
     find a clean room, ready to accommodate my needs.

  A man from St. Paul, Minnesota who is visually-impaired wrote to say 
that because of accommodations required by the ADA, he can use city 
buses with dignity, hear the audible traffic signals, and work. He said 
that the ADA also enables him to enjoy cultural activities, because he 
can listen to narrations of plays through earphones and basketball 
games through special radio receivers. In his words:

       [The ADA] has made my life 1000 times better than my 
     father's who was also totally blind.

  And, a woman from Corpus Christi, Texas, whose daughter is hearing 
impaired told me that her daughter is able to join her schoolmates in 
classes and activities because of relay services and interpreters. The 
mother also told me that because of the ADA-required relay services, 
her daughter was able to speak with her father for the first time.

       When my daughter was just 4 years old, she got to call her 
     real father for the first time. I wish you could have seen 
     the sparkle in her eyes and the tears in mine as she `talked' 
     with her daddy. It took forever (she couldn't type) but the 
     relay service was friendly and patient. I believe that Relay 
     has played a part in keeping their relationship strong. Every 
     little girl needs her daddy.

  Mr. President, I have a whole stack of these stories. I will not ask 
permission for all, but I ask unanimous consent to have some of the 
more poignant stories that I received from around the country be 
printed in the Record. They are very short.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Success Stories From U.S. Senator Tom Harkin's ``A Day in the Life of 
             the Americans with Disabilities Act'' Campaign


                                New York

       Summary: According to a man in New York with cerebral 
     palsy, the ADA-required ramps, elevators, automatic doors, 
     curb cuts, and accessible transportation have allowed him to 
     be more independent in his life. Thanks to the ADA, he is now 
     able to do his own banking, go to the post office or shop by 
     himself, or enjoy a meal at a restaurant. Reasonable 
     accommodation requirements have allowed him to work as an 
     advocate for people with disabilities and earn money to 
     contribute to his household expenses. In his words, the ADA 
     has allowed him to ``show my community that I am willing and 
     able to be like anyone else in ways like getting a job and 
     being independent.''
       Quotation: [Prior to the ADA,] I felt that I was not a real 
     human being because people with disabilities . . . were not 
     supposed to be seen or heard . . . [The ADA] opened the door 
     to freedom for people with all types of disabilities . . . 
     The ADA is a step toward reaching equal ground for EVERYONE! 
     . . . Doing things on my own makes me feel like I am a PERSON 
     and gives me a lot of confidence in myself''.


                               Tennessee

       Summary: A man from Tennessee has been quadriplegic since 
     an automobile accident in 1990, the very year that the ADA 
     was signed. According to him, the ADA has helped him pursue 
     his academic, as well as employment, dreams. The ADA helped 
     him to earn an undergraduate degree and was even the subject 
     of his master's thesis during graduate school at a Tennessee 
     state university.
       Quotation: [With the passage of the ADA], my physical 
     impairments that had recently been introduced to a cold world 
     now had a blanket. A blanket provided by my country . . . My 
     disability and the ADA were born together and this year we 
     celebrate 10 years of success, for the both of us.


                                Maryland

       Summary: A woman from Maryland is the mother of three 
     autistic children--all of whom have benefitted from the ADA. 
     Because of the ADA, she looks forward to her children 
     graduating from school and working in the community when they 
     grow up.
       Quotations: Ten years ago before the ADA my boys would have 
     been wrenched with heart ache as they walked with their heads 
     hung down in shame. They would feel the pain of having a 
     disorder that would make them stand and learn apart from the 
     other children at school. I am not sure what their future 
     holds in store. I know that the supports are in place.

[[Page 16337]]




                         Sacramento, California

       Summary: A man with muscular dystrophy from Sacramento, 
     California, cannot imagine what his life would be like 
     without the ADA and celebrates July 26 as the ``Other 
     Independence Day.'' He credits the ADA with making his life 
     ``full and independent'' by requiring stores, restaurants, 
     parks, and theaters to be accessible to all people.
       Quotation: The ADA embodies what people with disabilities 
     really want, to be viewed as people first, not judged or 
     excluded because of our disabilities. We want to earn a 
     living, raise families, go to restaurants, churches and live 
     our lives as independently as possible with dignity and 
     respect and not be excluded because of barriers--be they 
     architectural, communication or attitudinal barriers.


                        Moss Point, Mississippi

       Summary: A woman from Moss Point, Mississippi has been in a 
     wheelchair since 1997. The ADA makes it possible for her to 
     do her own grocery shopping, attend events at her 
     grandchildren's school, go to dinner ``anywhere,'' travel, 
     and stay in a handicapped room at a motel with the ``greatest 
     shower [she has] ever seen''.
       Quotation: No one plans to become handicapped, but I am 
     grateful the ADA Program planned for me.


                        Arroyo Grand, California

       Summary: A man from Arroyo Grand, California who uses a 
     wheelchair says that he has benefitted from the ADA in a 
     variety of ways. Because of the ADA, he is able to watch his 
     nieces play basketball in an accessible gymnasium, to play 
     chess in accessible recreation rooms, even to attend a Bob 
     Dylan concert and to shut his own apartment door.
       Quotation: The success of the Americans with Disabilities 
     Act over the last ten years was caused by its enormous power. 
     Knowledge of its power brings improvement. The reason the ADA 
     is powerful is that all businesses know about it, and people 
     with disabilities can communicate with that powerful 
     knowledge . . . Everywhere I go today I can seriously say 
     ``ADA'' and get a response.


                             Salem, Indiana

       Summary: A woman from Salem, Indiana, uses a wheelchair and 
     has limited use of one arm. She credits the ADA for the 
     construction of buildings where her disability ``never occurs 
     to [her]''--with aisles wide enough to accommodate a 
     wheelchair, bathrooms that are accessible, and drinking 
     fountains at chair level. She writes of the joy of being 
     allowed access, via outside elevators and ramps, to such 
     historical sites as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the 
     Lincoln Memorial.
       Quotation: Dear ADA, Thank you for being there when we need 
     you, the curb cuts, low-incline ramps, the grab bars and the 
     list goes on and on . . . ADA, what life has done to us, you 
     have equalized it, with accessibility.


                          Greenbelt, Maryland

       Summary: A man who lives in Greenbelt, Maryland and is 
     hearing impaired thanks the ADA for increasing public 
     awareness of the abilities the ``disabled'' have. He praises 
     the ADA for helping him become an attorney and allowing him 
     to help other people with disabilities ``achieve their 
     dreams.'' According to him, the ADA has impacted almost every 
     aspect of his daily life, from the time he turns on the 
     television with closed-captioning in the morning, to the time 
     he attends a city advisory meeting with an interpreter at 
     night.
       Quotation: The impact of the ADA is felt throughout my 
     daily life. When I turn on the TV in the morning, I can watch 
     captions and public service announcements because of the ADA. 
     When I go to work and make phone calls, I use the 
     telecommunication relay services enacted by the ADA. I talk 
     with my friends who are given accommodations on the job as 
     required by the ADA. In the afternoon I go to the doctor's 
     office and am able to communicate with my doctor because the 
     ADA has required the presence of a sign language interpreter. 
     After the doctor's office, I decide to go shopping and am 
     able to find a TTY (as required by the ADA) in the mall to 
     call my family and let them know that I will be a bit late 
     arriving home. After dinner with my family, I go to [city 
     meeting] . . . and am able to participate fully . . . because 
     the ADA allows me to receive the services of a sign language 
     interpreter. In short, the ADA has had a major impact on 
     almost every facet of my life.


                           Waukegan, Illinois

       Summary: A 25-year-old social worker who is sight impaired 
     writes from Waukegan, Illinois. According to her, Title III 
     of the ADA has allowed her to receive bank statements in 
     Braille and to balance her checkbook. She is now able to 
     enjoy a level of privacy that many Americans take for 
     granted.
       Quotation: I now receive my statements in the mail every 
     month, as do other bank customers. This might seem like a 
     small victory to some. Obviously such people have never been 
     denied the ability to read something so personal as a bank 
     statement.


                         Las Cruces, New Mexico

       Summary: A woman from Las Cruces, New Mexico, uses a 
     wheelchair and credits the ADA for allowing her to ``pick up 
     and make a move across the country'' to a new home. She says 
     that the ADA has given her her life back and made her a 
     ``possibility-thinker'' again.
       Quotation: I know that things are made possible for the 
     disabled now because IT'S THE LAW. We have greater options, 
     self-respect and better public awareness because of the ADA . 
     . . My independence and free will are intact.


                                 Texas

       Summary with Quotation: A woman from Texas is hearing-
     impaired and writes of how the ADA has allowed her to return 
     to academia. After teaching for 20 years, she was forced to 
     quit teaching college-level English when she could no longer 
     hear her students in the classroom. In her words ``it tore my 
     heart out to give it up.'' Now, because of services for 
     disabled students required by the ADA, she can attend 
     literature courses at a university by wearing a headset that 
     amplifies her professor's voice. In her words, ``[it] was 
     sheer heaven to be in the classroom again.''


                          Glen Ellyn, Illinois

       Summary and Quotations: A man in Glen Ellyn, Illinois who 
     is sight impaired regards the ADA as ``a necessary civil 
     rights law.'' Because of the ADA's employment provisions, he 
     has been able to ask his employer to make materials--such as 
     benefits information, texts for training courses, and time 
     sheets--in an alternative format. Because of the ADA's 
     transportation provisions, he has been able to travel on 
     public transportation, because bus drivers now call out 
     individual stops. Because of the ADA's public accommodation 
     requirements, he is able to order what he wants at 
     restaurants and to attend hotels and movie theaters 
     independently.


                        Brookline, Massachusetts

       Summary and Quotations: A hearing-impaired man from 
     Brookline, Massachusetts, writes to praise the ADA. Having 
     grown up in Trinidad without the benefits of disability 
     legislation, he appreciates being able to attend open-
     captioned movie theaters, use the Boston subways, which have 
     visual displays announcing stops, and have access to 
     interpreting services for work-related meetings and training 
     sessions. He writes of the ``growing respect'' people give to 
     individuals with disabilities and ``awareness'' that is 
     motivated by more than ``just a legal obligation.''


                      Rocky Mount, North Carolina

       Summary: A man in Rocky Mount, North Carolina who has been 
     a paraplegic all his life thanks the ADA for allowing him 
     ``to become as independent as others.'' He now has access to 
     a variety of school, shopping malls, and sports and 
     entertainment events. Because of the ADA, he has job 
     opportunities that he never could have dreamed of growing up.
       Quotation: ``When I was growing up I had to go to certain 
     schools and shopping malls that were accessible. Sports and 
     entertainment was something you dreamed about, but was never 
     able to participate in. . . . But now things are different, 
     thanks to the [ADA] . . . [The ADA] has made us . . . able to 
     say, ``Don't look at my disability, but look at my ability.' 
     ''


                         Arkadelphia, Arkansas

       Summary: A sight-impaired student in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 
     credits the ADA for making her first year at a state 
     university a ``beautiful experience and resounding success.'' 
     Because the ADA requires colleges to ensure equal access to 
     educational information, she is able to get a quality college 
     education.
       Quotation: [The ADA] has really helped the disabled people 
     that are present on our campus to get as good an education as 
     possible and also to make their college career a beautiful 
     experience and a resounding success.


                        South Amboy, New Jersey

       Summary: A woman from South Amboy, New Jersey who has 
     mental, behavioral, and learning disabilities says that the 
     ADA has made her feel included in community life. Through her 
     local independent living center, a psycho-social 
     rehabilitation program, an anger management workshop, and 
     other support and advocacy groups, she has learned to accept 
     her disabilities and ``welcome them as a dimension to [her 
     life].''
       Quotation: Most importantly, I strongly believe that the 
     ADA is breaking both physical and attitudinal barriers in the 
     community and society so citizens with all disabilities are 
     able to live, inclusive, full, productive, and independent 
     lives.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the ADA, of course, ultimately is about 
our children. They will be the first generation to grow up with the 
ADA--the first generation in which children with and without 
disabilities play together on the playground, learn together in school, 
hang out together at the mall and the movie theater, and go out 
together for pizza. These children who will grow up as classmates and 
friends and neighbors will now see each other as neighbors and 
coworkers--no longer segregated. That is what the ADA is about. It has 
opened up new worlds for

[[Page 16338]]

people with disabilities--where people with disabilities are 
participating more and more in their communities, living fuller lives 
as students, as coworkers, as taxpayers, as consumers, voters, and 
neighbors.
  But we must never forget that prohibiting discrimination is not the 
same as ensuring equal opportunity. President Johnson understood this 
when he said: ``[Y]ou cannot shackle men and women for centuries, then 
bring them to the starting line of a race and say, `You see, we're 
giving you an equal chance.' ''
  That is why we all work so hard for the Ticket to Work and Work 
Incentives Improvement Act because we had to set the stage to change 
the employment rate for people with disabilities. That is why we all 
work so hard to defend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 
because there is no equal opportunity without education.
  I am proud that this morning President Clinton announced a new effort 
by the Federal Government to open up an additional 100,000 jobs in the 
Federal Government for people with disabilities. That is leadership. I 
thank President Clinton for providing that leadership.
  Again, that is why we have to fight against genetic discrimination. 
That is why we have to add people with disabilities to the Hate Crimes 
Act that passed the Senate, and to make sure it becomes law.
  That is why we have to fight to make sure we don't lose in the 
Supreme Court what we gained in Congress. There is a case now pending 
before the Supreme Court in which a State has argued that title II of 
the ADA which applies to State governments should be held 
unconstitutional because the Federal Government does not have the power 
to enforce the ADA against the States in the way other civil rights 
laws are.
  The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the 
basis of race, applies to all the States and State governments. Now a 
State is arguing that the ADA, a civil rights law for people with 
disabilities, should not apply to States. They are saying: Don't worry. 
The State says: Leave it to us. We will make sure that people aren't 
subject to employment discrimination. We will make sure that people 
aren't forced to live inside institutions or carried up the steps in 
order to get into the local courthouse.
  Some of us remember after the 1964 civil rights bill was passed that 
States were arguing the same thing: Leave it to the States; they will 
take care of civil rights; we don't need the Federal Government coming 
in.
  What I think we are forgetting is that this is a civil rights law 
that covers the citizens of America. We are all in this together. We 
are talking about citizens'--Federal, national--constitutional rights 
to equal protection under the law. It is up to this Federal Congress to 
ensure that citizens with disabilities get that equal treatment. That 
is why we have title II of the ADA.
  In sign language, there is a wonderful sign for America. It is this: 
This is the sign for America, all of the fingers put together, joining 
the hands in a circle. That describes America for all. We are all 
together. We are not separated out. We are all within one circle; a 
family--the deaf sign. It is not separate and apart. It is not one 
State and another State when it comes to civil rights and ensuring 
equal protection of the law. We will not let the Supreme Court rewrite 
history and erase civil rights--the national civil rights for people 
with disabilities.
  Finally, we have to close the digital divide to make sure that people 
with disabilities have full access to the new technologies.
  Last night, Vice President Gore held a reception at the Vice 
President's house for literally hundreds and hundreds of people with 
disabilities from all over America. It was a great event to celebrate 
the 10th anniversary. In one tent, they set up a wide variety of new 
technologies to assist people with disabilities. I was particularly 
taken with one new device that had a cathode ray tube, CRT. It was 
hooked up to a PC. There was a little device under the net, a CRT that 
looked up at your eyes. You sat there for a second and it calibrated 
it. With your eye movement alone, you could turn on lights, turn off 
lights, make phone calls, talk to people, type letters, get on the 
Internet, only by moving your eyes.
  Think about what that means for people who have Lou Gehrig's disease 
or severe cerebral palsy. There are a lot of disabled people who can't 
do anything but move their eyes. But their mind is perfect.
  One perfect example that Vice President Gore always uses is Stephen 
Hawkins, perhaps the smartest individual in the world, who is fully 
immobile because of his disability. Yet here is a machine that will 
allow him to more rapidly access information and to write his wonderful 
books about the universe. That is what I mean when I say we ought to 
close the digital divide because there is so much out there that can 
help people with disabilities.
  Lastly, I say that the next step we have to do is fight and win 
against the continued segregation of people with disabilities from 
their own communities. That is why we have to move forward on the bill 
called MiCASSA, S. 1935, a bill that is pending in the Senate right 
now--the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act--a 
bipartisan bill that will eliminate institutional bias in the Federal 
Medicaid program and give people with disabilities and the elderly a 
real choice to live in their communities. Right now, Medicaid is biased 
toward institutionalization.
  Why shouldn't we give a person with a disability the right to decide 
where he or she wants to live and how they want to live? Let them live 
in their own home, in their own community settings. That is what S. 
1935 is about. The disability community all over this country 
understands personal attendants are sorely needed. No individual should 
be forced into an institution just to receive reimbursement for 
services that can be effectively and efficiently delivered in the home 
of the community. Individuals must be empowered to exercise real choice 
in selecting long-term services and supports that meet their unique 
needs and allow them to be independent. Federal and State Medicaid 
policies should be responsive to and not impede an individual's choice 
in selecting services and supports.
  This bill eliminates the bias toward institutional care. It would 
help deliver services and supports consistent with the principle that 
people with disabilities have the right to live in the most integrated 
setting appropriate to meeting that individual's unique needs.
  In last year's Olmstead decision, the Supreme Court found that to the 
extent that Medicaid dollars are used to pay for a person's long-term 
care, that person has a civil right to receive those services in the 
most integrative settings. Therefore, we in Congress have a 
responsibility to help States meet the financial costs associated with 
serving people with disabilities who want to leave institutions and 
live in the community. MiCASSA, as the bill is known, S. 1935, will 
provide that help.
  A lot of people say this will cost money. Actually, it will save 
money. Medicaid spending on long-term care in 1997 totaled $56 billion, 
but only $13.5 billion was spent on home and community-based services. 
That $13.5 billion paid for the care of almost 2 million people.
  In contrast, the $42.5 billion we spent on institutional care paid 
for just a little over 1 million people.
  The average annual cost of institutional care for people with 
disabilities is more than double the average annual cost of providing 
home and community-based services. Right now, all across the country, 
hundreds of thousands of people are providing unpaid support to sons 
and daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, to allow them to 
remain in the community. Yet when they turn to the current long-term 
care system for relief, all too often all they can do is add their name 
to a very long waiting list. That is not right. That is not just. That 
is not fair. These family care givers are sacrificing their own 
employment opportunities and costing the country millions in taxable 
income.

[[Page 16339]]

  Lastly, I take a moment to remark on the surplus. Lately that is all 
we are hearing about is how much surplus we will have over the next 10 
years. I hear now it is up to $2 trillion and counting. We have some 
very important decisions to make about what we do with the surplus. 
Everyone is lining up--tax breaks here, tax cuts here, tax breaks here, 
for business, for corporations, for this group, for that group--all 
lining up to get some of that surplus.
  I believe we have to make some important decisions. I believe we have 
to use that money to pay down the debt, shore up Social Security, make 
sure that our seniors get what they need under Medicare. With all these 
groups lining up to get a piece of the action on the surplus, I am 
asking: What about the disability community? What about the Americans 
all over our country who want to live in their own communities, who 
want supportive services in their homes, who want personal assistance 
services so they can go to work every day? I believe we should use some 
of that surplus to make sure that all Americans have the equal right to 
live in the community--not just in spirit, but in reality.
  As I said, our present Medicaid policy has an institutional bias. We 
need to use some of this surplus to get people in their own homes and 
communities. There may be some transitional cost, but we know later on 
when these people start going to work, when their families and the 
family care givers who are at home now and underemployed, are employed, 
when they go to work they are working, making money, paying taxes.
  Yes, when we are talking about what we are going to do with that 
surplus, let's not forget we have millions of Americans far too long 
segregated, far too long kept out of the main stream of society, far 
too long denied their rights as American citizens to full integration 
in our society. It is time we do the right thing. It is time when we 
make decisions about the surplus, we use some of that to make sure that 
people with disabilities are able to live and work and travel as they 
want.
  ADA may stand for the Americans with Disabilities Act, but it stands 
for more than that. It really stands for the American dream for all.
  In closing, as I said earlier, my brother, Frank, passed away last 
month. I miss him now and I will miss him forever. He was a wonderful 
brother to me. He was a great friend. He was my great inspiration. He 
was proud of what the ADA meant for people with disabilities. For 10 
years he and millions of people across our country lived out its 
possibilities. So I thank my brother, Frank. I thank everyone else in 
the entire disability community who was an inspiration for me, who 
worked so hard for the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  I include in that many of my fellow Senators and Representatives. 
This was never a partisan bill. It is not now a partisan bill. It will 
never be a partisan bill. Too many good people on both sides of the 
aisle worked hard. Senator Weicker, who led the charge early on, before 
I even got to the Senate; Senator Dole, who worked so hard, so long, to 
make sure we got ADA through; Boyden Grey, Counsel to the President who 
worked with us every step of the way; Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, 
what a giant he was, hung in there, day after day, working to make sure 
we got it through. On our side of the aisle, Senator Kennedy, who made 
sure we had all the hearings, got the people there, made the record, to 
ensure that ADA was on solid ground; Tony Coehlo from the House of 
Representatives, and Representative Steny Hoyer in the House; 
Congressman Steve Bartlett, another great giant, Republican leader in 
the House at that time, later on became mayor of Dallas. He was there 
this morning, too.
  At that time, there weren't Democrat and there weren't Republicans. 
We were all in that same boat together, and we were all pulling 
together. We were, as I said earlier, Mr. President--the deaf sign for 
Americans is this (signing)--all of us together, fingers intertwined, 
all of us in that same family circle. That is what ADA is about. It is 
about this deaf sign. We are all in this together.
  We want to make sure the ADA really does stand for the American dream 
for all.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brownback). Under the previous order, 
Senator DeWine is recognized.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Ohio will yield 
to me, and I ask unanimous consent to be recognized for a few remarks 
in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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