Jackie Speier: “The ADA is a powerful and important law that we all respect and embrace. Unfortunately, in States like California, it…”

“The ADA is a powerful and important law that we all respect and embrace. Unfortunately, in States like California, it has created a cottage industry of unscrupulous attorneys abusing title III of the ADA. The amendment I am offering is very simple. The current language in the bill permits a business notified of noncompliance with the ADA to simply make substantial progress in remedying the violation. Frankly, this language is too loose. My amendment strengthens this language to only permit the language of ``substantial progress'' where they cannot complete the work because of extenuating circumstances. Mr. Chairman, this amendment promotes basic fairness. It does not allow dishonest property owners to abandon responsibility by claiming they have made substantial progress. The message is still clear: businesses must fix their ADA violations. Today is a chance to pass something that addresses the real problem. Let's not let the lack of a perfect solution get in the way of real progress. I want to speak to some of the issues that we have had in California. In California, this particular law has created an industry that allows for lawyers to make a lot of money off of small businesses. It has basically allowed shady law firms to make a profit out of abusing the ADA, often resulting in high legal bills and no fix to the allegations presented. In many cases, businesses are forced into settlements because the cost of fighting an allegation is so great.…”