[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 19385-19387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SOLIDARITY ON 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2005

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate the fifteenth anniversary 
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which occurred this week, 
I would like to share the attached Statement of Solidarity, signed by 
170 national organizations and numerous state and local organizations. 
This Statement of Solidarity demonstrates the strong commitment in our 
nation for building upon the progress achieved in the first fifteen 
years after passage of the ADA, and continuing to strive to improve the 
lives of all Americans with disabilities.

     Statement of Solidarity on 15th Anniversary of Americans With 
                    Disabilities Act--July 26, 2005

       Fifteen years ago today, with bipartisan support in 
     Congress and broad endorsements from the civil rights 
     coalition, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the 
     Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), calling for the 
     ``shameful wall of exclusion'' to come tumbling down. As we 
     mark this significant anniversary, we celebrate improvements 
     in access to polling places and the secret ballot, government 
     services and programs, transportation, public places, 
     communication and information technology. Parents pushing 
     strollers, workers delivering packages, and travelers pulling 
     roller bags have grown accustomed to curb cuts, ramps, and 
     other accessibility features less common in 1990. Our country 
     is more accessible today thanks to the ADA, and all Americans 
     are better off.
       Although substantial progress has been made, we are 
     reminded every day of the significant remnants of the 
     ``shameful wall of exclusion'' that continue to prevent this 
     great country from realizing the full promise of the ADA. The 
     majority of Americans with disabilities continue to live in 
     poverty and unnecessary isolation. Most adults with 
     disabilities are either not working or not working to their 
     full potential, robbing the economy of the contributions of 
     tens of millions of would-be workers. Children and youth in 
     special education continue to drop out of school in alarming 
     numbers before obtaining a regular high school diploma. The 
     promises of higher education, accessible and affordable 
     housing and transportation, quality affordable healthcare, 
     and a living wage continue to elude many adults with 
     disabilities and their families. The ADA is slowly driving 
     policy changes that have enabled more people with significant 
     mental and physical disabilities to live independently in the 
     community, but the ongoing institutional bias in the Medicaid 
     program keeps too many people trapped in nursing homes and 
     other institutions, unable to enjoy the freedoms and personal 
     choices about where and how to live that other Americans take 
     for granted.
       New technologies are increasing the independence and 
     productivity of many Americans. Yet, advances in technology 
     alone are not guaranteed to improve the lives of people with 
     disabilities. As we develop applications like Voice-over-
     Internet-Protocol (VOIP) telephony, wireless 
     telecommunications, widespread broadband internet 
     connectivity, new medical devices, new computer applications, 
     and a plethora of new genetic tests, it is critical that 
     these technologies be designed and used in a way that 
     increases the inclusion, independence, and empowerment of 
     Americans with disabilities as well as America's growing 
     senior population.
       The ADA has begun to change the landscape of our cities and 
     towns, but a civil rights law alone does not create the kind 
     of transformation of attitudes that Americans with 
     disabilities, their families, and allies are fighting to 
     achieve. This kind of change requires widespread discussion, 
     education, and consciousness-raising.

[[Page 19386]]

       In 2005, how do fears, myths, and stereotypes continue to 
     artificially limit understanding and acceptance of disability 
     as a form of human diversity? What role do the mass media and 
     entertainment industries play in forming public perceptions 
     of disability, and how can decision makers in these important 
     fields be influenced to produce more content that depicts the 
     actual life experience and first person perspectives of 
     people with disabilities? What can be done to further improve 
     accessibility at the design stage of new products and 
     programs? How can disability awareness and disability-
     friendly practices create more productive places of business 
     and learning? What concrete actions can worship communities 
     and sports and recreation programs take to foster full 
     participation of children, youth, and adults with 
     disabilities in these activities?
       Why do so many Americans continue to view disability as a 
     fate worse than death, and how do these views affect 
     surrogate medical decision making and the application of new 
     genetic testing technologies?
       These questions form the basis of an American conversation 
     that still needs to take place.
       Widespread social change cannot simply be legislated, and 
     it will not occur without bold leadership from all sectors of 
     American society.
       Public and private employers, in particular, must make a 
     serious, concerted effort to recruit and advance qualified 
     workers with disabilities within their labor force.
       Election officials must take the necessary actions to 
     ensure that every adult is able to enter his or her polling 
     place and cast a secret and independent vote.
       School administrators and university presidents must 
     embrace their responsibility to deliver a worldclass 
     education to all their students.
       It is time for leaders across America--business owners, 
     little league coaches, moms and dads, sheriffs and clergy--to 
     reject exclusion, paternalism, and segregation and to take 
     personal responsibility for removing barriers to full 
     participation that still exist in every community in this 
     country.
       With the aim of making America work better for everyone, 
     the undersigned organizations pledge to build on the progress 
     of the last 15 years and join together to promote the full 
     participation and self-determination of the more than 50 
     million U.S. children and adults with disabilities. We 
     believe that disability is a natural part of the human 
     experience that in no way should limit the right of all 
     people to make choices, pursue meaningful careers, live 
     independently, and participate fully in all aspects of 
     society. We encourage every American to join us in this 
     cause, so that our country may continue on the path that 
     leads to liberty and justice for all.
           Signed (as of July 25, 2005):


                         National Organizations

         AAPD (American Association of People with Disabilities); 
           AARP; Abilities, Inc.; ABILITY Awareness/ABILITY 
           Magazine; ADA Watch/National Coalition for Disability 
           Rights; ADAPT; AFL-CIO; ALDA, Inc. (Association of 
           Late-Deafened Adults); Alliance for Children and 
           Families; Alliance for Public Technology (APT); 
           Alliance for Retired Americans; American Academy of 
           Audiology; American Academy of Physical Medicine and 
           Rehabilitation; American Association for Active 
           Lifestyles and Fitness; American Association of Leisure 
           and Recreation; American Association of Mental 
           Retardation; American Association of the Deaf-Blind 
           (AADB); American Association of University Women; 
           American Association on Health and Disability; American 
           Congress of Community Supports and Employment Services; 
           American Council of the Blind; American Counseling 
           Association; American Dance Therapy Association; 
           American Diabetes Association; American Federation of 
           State, County and Municipal Employees; American 
           Foundation for the Blind.
         American Institute on Domestic Violence; American Medical 
           Student Association; American Medical Women's 
           Association (AMWA); American Music Therapy Association; 
           American Network of Community Options and Resources 
           (ANCOR); American Occupational Therapy Association; 
           American Psychological Association; American Public 
           Health Association; American Therapeutic Recreation 
           Association; Americans for Democratic Action (ADA); 
           Amputee Coalition of America (ACA); APSE: The Network 
           on Employment; Assistive Technology Industry 
           Association (ATIA); Association of Assistive Technology 
           Act Programs (ATAP); Association of State Independent 
           Living Councils (ASILC); Association of University 
           Centers on Disabilities (AUCD); Brain Injury 
           Association of America; Campaign for America's Future; 
           Center for an Accessible Society; Center for Disability 
           Issues and the Health Professions (CDIHP).
         Center on Disability and Health; Central Conference of 
           American Rabbis; Chemical Sensitivity Disorders 
           Association; Child Care Law Center; Christopher Reeve 
           Paralysis Foundation; Coalition of Religious 
           Communities; Common Cause; Consumers Union; Council of 
           Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI); 
           Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF); 
           Disability Service Providers of America (DSPA); Easter 
           Seals; EIN SOF Communications; Enable America; Epilepsy 
           Foundation of America; Ethel Louise Armstrong 
           Foundation, Inc. (ELA); Exceptional Parent Magazine; 
           Exploding Myths, Inc.; Family Voices; Fannie Lou Hamer 
           Project.
         Federally Employed Women; Federation of Families for 
           Children's Mental Health; Friends Committee on National 
           Legislation; General Federation of Women's Clubs; 
           Gerontological Society of America; Hadassah, The Womens 
           Zionist Organization of America; Inter-National 
           Association of Business, Industry and Rehabilitation 
           (I-NABIR); Judge David L.; Bazelon Center for Mental 
           Health Law; Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under 
           Law; Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR); 
           League for the Hard of Hearing; League of Women Voters 
           of the United States; Legal Momentum; Lift, Inc.; 
           Little People of America; Medicare Rights Center; 
           MindFreedom Support Coalition International; Mobility 
           Golf.
         Mobility International USA (MIUSA); NAACP Legal Defense & 
           Educational Fund, Inc.; National Asian Pacific American 
           Legal Consortium (NAPALC); National Association for 
           Visually Handicapped; National Association of Councils 
           on Developmental Disabilities; National Association of 
           Social Workers; National Association of State Head 
           Injury Administrators; National Association of the Deaf 
           (NAD); National Business & Disability Council (NBDC); 
           National Center for Environmental Health Strategies; 
           National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence; 
           National Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome 
           Foundation (CFIDS), Inc; National Coalition Against 
           Domestic Violence; National Congress of American 
           Indians; National Consumers League (NCL); National 
           Council of Jewish Women (NCJW); National Council of La 
           Raza; National Council on Independent Living (NCIL); 
           National Council on Rehabilitation Education.
         National Council on the Aging; National Disability Rights 
           Network; National Down Syndrome Congress; National Down 
           Syndrome Society; National Employment Lawyers 
           Association; National Empowerment Center (NEC); 
           National Federation of Temple Youth; National 
           Federation of the Blind; National Gay and Lesbian Task 
           Force; National Health Law Program, Inc; (NHeLP); 
           National Home Visitability Organization; National 
           Indian Telecommunication Institute; National Industries 
           for the Blind (NIB); National Multiple Sclerosis 
           Society; National Organization For Women; National 
           Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND); 
           National Organization on Disability; National 
           Recreation and Park Association; National 
           Rehabilitation Association; National Research Center 
           for Women & Families.
         National Spinal Cord Injury Association; National Women's 
           Law Center; National Women's Health Network; 9to5, 
           National Association of Working Women; NISH; Not Dead 
           Yet; On a Roll Communications, LLC; Paralyzed Veterans 
           of America; Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy; People 
           for the American Way; People Who; People with 
           Disabilities Broadcasting Corporation; Physically 
           Challenged Bowhunters of America (PCBA); Presbyterian 
           Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office; Progressive 
           Coalition; Research and Training Center on Independent 
           Living at the University of Kansas; RESNA 
           (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology 
           Society of North America); Rock the Vote; Screen Actors 
           Guild--Performers With Disabilities Committee.
         Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH); Sikh 
           American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF); 
           Spina Bifida Association of America; Stop Family 
           Violence; TASH; TDI (Telecommunications for the Deaf, 
           Inc.); Telecommunication Services for the Deaf; The Arc 
           of the United States; The Mitsubishi Electric America 
           Foundation; The National Coalition on Self 
           Determination, Inc; The National Coalition to Amend the 
           Medicare Homebound Restriction; The National Women's 
           Conference; The Rolling Rains Report; The Silent 
           Witness Project; Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc; 
           Union for Reformed Judaism; Unitarian Universalist 
           Association of Congregations; United Cerebral Palsy; 
           United Food and Commercial Workers International Union 
           (UFCW); United

[[Page 19387]]

           Spinal Association; USAction; Vocational Evaluation and 
           Career Assessment Professionals (VECAP); WGBH National 
           Center for Accessible Media; Women In Media & News 
           (WIMN); Women of Reform Judaism; Women's Committee of 
           100; Workplace Fairness; World Institute on Disability.
       To see a listing of state and local organizations, please 
     visit www.aapd.com.

                          ____________________