[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 125, 112th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
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

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the benefit of American companies, who already meet high standards under
United States domestic law. Improved disabilities 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.
BARACK OBAMA