Tom Harkin: “24 years ago, on July 26, 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush, in a glorious sun-filled day on the White House…”

“24 years ago, on July 26, 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush, in a glorious sun-filled day on the White House lawn, attended by more people than had ever attended a bill signing in the history of our country--President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, a bill broadly supported by Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate and in the House. It was a momentous occasion. You see, most people thought of civil rights as pertaining to people of color, religion, national origin, sex--that type of thing. But up until July 26, 1990, people with disabilities had no civil rights. I remember when President Bush signed that law, he uttered these words. He said: ``Let the shameful walls of discrimination come tumbling down.'' It was a wonderful day. Looking back over those 24 years, can anyone deny that our country has made great progress in expanding our concepts of the rights of people with disabilities: the right to be educated and well educated; the right of people with disabilities to have independent living, to live on their own, not to be institutionalized; the right of people with disabilities to associate freely with others; the right of people with disabilities, children with disabilities, to go to school with other kids who are not disabled; the right of people with disabilities to travel freely with barriers broken down, ramps not stairs, buses that are fully accessible now, trains, everything accessible, every building designed…”