[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9066--DEC. 2, 2013

Proclamation 9066 of December 2, 2013

International Day of Persons With Disabilities, 2013
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Nearly a quarter century has gone by since our Nation passed the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights bill that
enshrined the principles of inclusion, access, and equal opportunity
into law. The ADA was born out of a movement sparked by those who
understood their disabilities should not be an obstacle to success and
took up the mission of tearing down physical and social barriers that
stood in their way. On this International Day of Persons with
Disabilities, we celebrate the enormous progress made at home and abroad
and we strengthen our resolve to realize a world free of prejudice.
Every child deserves a decent education, every adult deserves equal
access to the workplace, and every nation that allows injustice to stand
denies itself the full talents and contributions of individuals with
disabilities. I was proud that under my Administration the United States
signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, an
international convention based on the principles of the ADA, and I urge
the Senate to provide its advice and consent to ratification. By joining
the 138 parties to this convention, the United States would carry
forward its legacy of global leadership on disability rights, enhance
our ability to bring other countries up to our own high standards of
access and inclusion, and expand opportunities for Americans with
disabilities--including our 5.5 million disabled veterans--to work,
study, and travel abroad.



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My Administration remains committed to leading by example. This year, as
we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act, we updated
rules to improve hiring of veterans and people with disabilities,
especially among Federal contractors and subcontractors. Thanks to the
Affordable Care Act, insurers can no longer put lifetime dollar limits
on essential health benefits for Americans with disabilities. And in
January, it will be illegal to deny coverage because of pre-existing
conditions.
The changes achieved in the last two decades speak to what people can
accomplish when they refuse to accept the world as it is. Today let us
once again reach for the world that should be--one where all people,
regardless of country or disability, enjoy equal access, equal
opportunity, and the freedom to realize their limitless potential.
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 December 3, 2013, as
International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I call on all Americans
to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and
programs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA