Political Quotes

“I rise for two purposes today, and I will start with the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is the 28th anniversary of that landmark legislation. Former Senator Tom Harkin served the people of Iowa for more than three decades, if you include House and Senate service. He was a champion for people with disabilities, and I think that is an understatement. For many years, he was the champion. Senator Harkin used to say that the Americans with Disabilities Act was the last great civil rights law of the 20th century. The passage of what we know as the ADA helped to bring into focus a picture that started to develop 150 years ago with the ratification of the 14th Amendment. That great amendment guaranteed equal protection under the law for all. The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act confirmed that people with disabilities are included in that guarantee of the 14th Amendment. I think it is important to review the goals of the ADA. We have probably lost track of those goals with the passage of time. They need to be repeated. The first goal is equal opportunity. The second goal is independent living. The third goal is full participation. The fourth goal is economic self-sufficiency. That is what we want to achieve for people with disabilities: equal opportunity, independent living, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency. The goals are not achievable, of course, without great support.…”