[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17649-17650]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, there can be no worse public act than a 
government that refuses to acknowledge the humanity of its citizens.
  Throughout history, the United States has struggled to rise above the 
divisions among its people and, instead, fuse its people into a single, 
unified citizenry.

[[Page 17650]]

  Whether it was the struggle over civil rights for persons of color, 
the fight for women's rights or, most recently, the battle for access 
by persons with disabilities, the United States has risen above our 
differences and embraced them as worthy of a society that sees itself 
as open, free, and inclusive.
  The fight by persons with disabilities for nondiscrimination in 
matters of employment, transportation and building access, and 
accommodation, was landmark.
  Through the enactment of the ADA, our country removed the cloak of 
secrecy wrapped around our disabled citizens and announced to the world 
that persons with disabilities were valued members of our society.
  So, today, as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Americans With 
Disabilities Act, I rise to honor ever person, disabled or not, who 
worked so hard to see this law enacted. These persons and their effort 
are a testament to the spirit of fairness, the spirit of perseverance, 
and the spirit of hope that inspires us all.
  There can be no worse public act than a government that refuses to 
acknowledge the humanity of its citizens.
  Throughout its history, the United States has struggled to rise above 
the divisions among its people and instead fuse its people into a 
single, unified citizenry.
  Whether it was the struggle over civil rights for persons of color, 
the fight for women's rights, or most recently, the battle for access 
by persons with disabilities, the United States has risen above our 
differences and embraced them as worthy of a society that sees itself 
as open, free, and inclusive.
  The fight by persons with disabilities for non-discrimination in 
matters of employment, transportation and building access and 
accommodation was landmark.
  Through the enactment of the ADA our country proclaimed that 43 
million Americans were real people, deserving of amenities everyone 
else took for granted.
  Through the enactment of the ADA our country removed the cloak of 
secrecy wrapped around our disabled citizens and announced to the world 
that persons with disabilities were valued members of our society.
  The successes of ADA continue to astonish us, even 15 years later: 
the disabled child who now can play Little League ball; disabled 
veterans who can now use special equipment to play golf at military 
golf courses; disabled patrons who can now go to movie theaters, 
restaurants, and museums who before found the trip daunting, or were 
blocked entirely. Now we have buses that kneel for our disabled riders, 
earphones for opera lovers who just don't hear well enough, and talking 
elevators that tell blind passengers their floor stop.
  All of this may have been mandated by the ADA but just as 
consequential is that it was American ingenuity that developed it. We 
figured it out. We set a goal to integrate persons with disabilities 
into mainstream America, and by gosh, we did.
  Unfortunately, even with the ADA in place, the road to full 
accommodation has been pitted with potholes and rough spots. As it was 
with civil rights, or women's rights, the full recognition of 
disability rights falls short in many regards. As a Nation we need to 
recommit ourselves to these lofty laws; it is the right thing to do. 
There are still too many instances of persons with disabilities being 
excluded from public venue because they are different. That is just 
wrong and it is un-American. In the land of freedom, established so 
every man and woman could pursue their dreams, these incidents are 
blots against our national value of equality.
  So today while we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act, I rise to honor every person--disabled and not--
who worked so hard to see this law enacted. These persons and their 
effort are testament to the spirit of fairness, the spirit of 
perseverance and the spirit of hope that inspires us all.

                          ____________________