[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 145 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45163-45164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19285]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 145 / Thursday, July 28, 2011 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 45163]]

                Proclamation 8694 of July 25, 2011

                
Anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities 
                Act, 2011

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                 Generations of Americans with disabilities have 
                improved our country in countless ways. Refusing to 
                accept the world as it was, they have torn down the 
                barriers that prohibited them from fully realizing the 
                American dream. Their tireless efforts led to the 
                enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 
                one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights 
                legislation in our Nation's history. On this day, we 
                celebrate the 21st anniversary of the ADA and the 
                progress we have made, and we reaffirm our commitment 
                to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.

                 Each day, people living with disabilities make 
                immeasurable contributions to the diversity and 
                vitality of our communities. Nearly one in five 
                Americans lives with a disability. They are our family 
                members and friends, neighbors and colleagues, and 
                business and civic leaders. Since the passing of the 
                ADA, persons with disabilities are leading fuller lives 
                in neighborhoods that are more accessible and have 
                greater access to new technologies. In our classrooms, 
                young people with disabilities now enjoy the same 
                educational opportunities as their peers and are 
                gaining the tools necessary to reach their greatest 
                potential.

                 Despite these advancements, there is more work to be 
                done, and my Administration remains committed to ending 
                all forms of discrimination and upholding the rights of 
                Americans with disabilities. The Department of Justice 
                continues to strengthen enforcement of the ADA by 
                ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to 
                community-based services that allow them to lead 
                independent lives in the communities of their choosing. 
                Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, insurers 
                will no longer be able to engage in the discriminatory 
                practice of denying coverage based on pre-existing 
                conditions, and Americans with disabilities will have 
                greater control over their health care choices. And 
                last year, I signed an Executive Order establishing the 
                Federal Government as a model employer for individuals 
                with disabilities, placing a special focus on 
                recruitment and retention of public servants with 
                disabilities across Federal agencies.

                 Through the ADA, America was the first country in the 
                world to comprehensively declare equality for citizens 
                with disabilities. To continue promoting these 
                principles, we have joined in signing the Convention on 
                the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. At its core, 
                this Convention promotes equality. It seeks to ensure 
                that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights 
                and opportunities as all people, and are able to lead 
                their lives as do other individuals.

                 Eventual ratification of this Convention would 
                represent another important step in our forty-plus 
                years of protecting disability rights. It would offer 
                us a platform to encourage other countries to join and 
                implement the Convention. Broad implementation would 
                mean greater protections and benefits abroad for 
                millions of Americans with disabilities, including our 
                veterans, who travel, conduct business, study, reside, 
                or retire overseas. In encouraging other countries to 
                join and implement the Convention, we also could help 
                level the playing field to the benefit of American 
                companies, who already meet high standards under United 
                States domestic law. Improved disabilities

[[Page 45164]]

                standards abroad would also afford American businesses 
                increased opportunities to export innovative products 
                and technologies, stimulating job creation at home.

                 Equal access, equal opportunity, and the freedom to 
                make of our lives what we will are principles upon 
                which our Nation was founded, and they continue to 
                guide our efforts to perfect our Union. Together, we 
                can ensure our country is not deprived of the full 
                talents and contributions of the approximately 54 
                million Americans living with disabilities, and we will 
                move forward with the work of providing pathways to 
                opportunity to all of our people.

                 NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, July 26, 
                2011, the Anniversary of the Americans with 
                Disabilities Act. I encourage Americans across our 
                Nation to celebrate the 21st anniversary of this civil 
                rights law and the many contributions of individuals 
                with disabilities.

                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2011-19285
Filed 7-27-11; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P