[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 32 (Monday, August 12, 1996)]
[Page 1415]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill 
of Rights Act Amendments of 1996

August 6, 1996

    Today, I am pleased to sign into law S. 1757, the ``Developmental 
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1996.'' 
This legislation would extend for 3 years the authorization of 
appropriations under the Act.
    During the 25 years since its enactment, the Developmental 
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act has made a crucial 
difference in the lives and futures of Americans with developmental 
disabilities and their families. Through this Act, Federal funds support 
the development and operation of developmental disabilities councils, 
protection and advocacy activities, university-affiliated programs, and 
projects of national significance. This crucial investment has provided 
the structure to assist people with developmental disabilities to reach 
their maximum potential.
    When first conceived by President Kennedy, Dr. Elizabeth Boggs, and 
others, the primary emphasis of developmental disabilities programs was 
on access to institutional facilities. Today, the focus is on helping 
people to obtain the support they need to make choices about how to 
live, particularly in family or community settings. The developmental 
disabilities programs emphasize fundamental system change, including 
legal services and advocacy and capacity building at the State and local 
levels. They also continue to spur progress and create opportunities in 
the everyday lives of children and adults with developmental and other 
significant disabilities in ways unimaginable a generation ago.
    Beginning in the mid-seventies, individuals with disabilities and 
their families began to work for, and gain passage of, key Federal and 
State legislation regarding educational access, barrier-free design, and 
employment. The resulting legislation has helped to open doors that had 
been slammed shut for decades. It was once common for people with 
disabilities to be denied access to community schools, swimming pools, 
banks, restaurants, and even to the voting booth. Today, these actions 
are not only illegal, but would be considered beyond the pale by the 
American people.
    Americans with disabilities are helping to redefine what it means to 
have a disability in America and what it means to be a full, 
contributing citizen. I am pleased to support continuation of the 
developmental disabilities programs that have meant so much to Americans 
with disabilities.
                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
August 6, 1996.

Note: S. 1757, approved August 6, was assigned Public Law No. 104-183.