[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[January 12, 1993]
[Pages 2241-2243]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Disability Community Tribute to the President
January 12, 1993

    Thank you all for this honor. You talk about a sea of friendly 
faces. I'll get in trou- ble for singling some out and leaving out 
others, but certainly Evan Kemp and Justin, Justin Dart; Dick and Ginny 
Thornburgh here; Pat Wright; Judi Chamberlin; Tom

[[Page 2242]]

McKeithan; Doro, my daughter; King Jordan, Dr. I. King; and of course, 
Senator Bob Dole and other Members of Congress here. I think of my 
receiving this, and I think of all Bob has done over the years. I pale 
by comparison, my efforts. I see Steny Hoyer over here, who's committed 
and has worked very hard as a Member of Congress; Tony Coelho, the same 
thing, as a leader in the Congress; Norm Mineta here with us today; had 
a lovely letter from Tom Harkin--I can't remember ever agreeing with Tom 
Harkin on anything other than this, and he points that out to me in the 
letter. [Laughter] I think it bespeaks the breadth of the interest in 
the Americans with Disabilities Act, and I appreciate it very much. Of 
course, I'd be remiss if I didn't single out Boyden Gray, who was 
working very hard. And she and Pat going steady for a while as even she 
admitted. You talk about the odd couple, that's it. But nevertheless--
[laughter].
    But I make this point because this cause or this legislation really 
moved across all barriers. Whether it's liberal or conservative or 
Democrat or Republican, it was wonderful the way the people in this room 
and people all across this country came together to do something good.
    And so I am very grateful to be over here. Doro is right; Barbara 
wanted to be here. And I wish she were here, because the more she packs 
boxes over there, the more irritable she gets. [Laughter] But serious--
no, Bar, if you're listening--[laughter]. I know her.
    But the irony is that so many people here today, because of their 
dedication and, yes, their hard work that led to the passage of the ADA, 
deserve to receive this honor. I really feel this way. Some of you have 
been fighting for that act for year after year after year. And on the 
eve of my departure from the Office of Presidency, I am just delighted 
to have this opportunity to meet again with those who shared in one of 
its finest moments, this country's finest moments: the proposal, the 
passage, and the signing of the most comprehensive civil rights bill in 
the history of this country and indeed the history of the world, the 
Americans with Disabilities Act.
    ADA runs deep in the vein of the American tradition, and that is, a 
belief in equal opportunity--we heard it over here from Ms. Chamberlin--
devotion to individual rights, the ethic really of inclusion. Resisting 
the extremes of either negligence or patronization, the act reflects a 
conservative way of helping people, one that helps others help 
themselves.
    At the beginning of this century, one African American bishop 
described his aspiration for civil rights saying, we ask not that others 
bear our burdens, but don't obstruct our pathway, and we'll throw them 
off, throw off those burdens as we run. In the same spirit, the 43 
millions with disabilities have asked, to paraphrase President Kennedy, 
not that their country can do for them but only that they be allowed to 
do for themselves, and thereby their country. I believe that the 
economic challenges of the next century cannot, simply cannot, be met 
without the energy and the intelligence of, the industry of every 
citizen. ADA broadens our economic mainstream so that all Americans can 
share in the responsibilities and rewards of hard work worth doing.
    A few critics--Bob knows this well from his leadership role in the 
Congress--have complained about the costs of ADA, as if some rights were 
simply too expensive. But when you add together Federal, State, local, 
and private funds, it's been costing almost $200 billion annually to 
support our disabled in artificial isolation. And this legislation takes 
an economic inefficiency and reinvents it then as opportunity and 
enterprise.
    Indeed, I believe that the costs of forgotten citizens is greater 
than any that can be factored into some Government budget. And when we 
neglect the rights of some, we simply degrade the rights of all. The 
quest for civil rights is not a zero sum game, as if there were only so 
many rights to go around. Our founders thought of rights not as 
privileges granted by man but as self-evident truths ordained by God.
    But just as our Constitution pledges equality under law, so we must 
strive for legal equality, one that broadens opportunity, increases 
access, and gives each citizen a fair shot 
at the American dream. And the beautiful thing is this legislation does 
just

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that, not by setting up new institutions but by tearing down old walls. 
And you see, I believe that in the end it will take more than better 
regulations and bigger bureaucracies to make this land the land of 
opportunity for all.
    Government can certainly make good laws; it can't make men good. It 
can ban unfair acts; it can't banish unkind thoughts. And so it's up to 
us to reach out to those Americans disabled by ignorance or handicapped 
by prejudice and teach them a better way. Each American shares a 
responsibility for a kinder, gentler America, to follow the example that 
so many of you in this room have led with your lives.
    I'm not sure I know exactly what I'll be doing a few months from 
now, but I want to say this: I want to stay involved. I want to help. 
I'll be a private citizen, not sitting at the head table, out of the 
Government limelight, but I want to help. I want to stay involved in 
this kind of important work.
    I'm not sure how historians will record the fact that the first 
George Bush Medal was given to George Bush. [Laughter] There seems 
something a little contradictory perhaps on that. But you've made me 
very happy. And I admire you. I respect you. I love you, and I wish you 
all well.
    Thank you, and may God bless you all.

                    Note: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. at the 
                        Capital Hilton. In his remarks, he referred to 
                        Evan Kemp, Chairman, Equal Employment 
                        Opportunity Commission; Justin Dart, Chairman, 
                        President's Committee on Employment of People 
                        with Disabilities; former Attorney General Dick 
                        Thornburgh and his wife, Ginny; Patrisha Wright, 
                        government affairs director, Disability Rights 
                        Education and Defense Fund, Inc.; Judi 
                        Chamberlin, coordinating committee member, 
                        National Association of Psychiatric Survivors; 
                        Thomas McKeithan II, Benjamin Banneker High 
                        School student; and Dr. I. King Jordan, 
                        president, Gallaudet University.