On the recordMay 8, 2012
We had this discussion in the full committee. You have on one side the Paralyzed Veterans Association and the National Association of Blind Veterans--every veterans group you can imagine. On the other side, you have hotel owners, who say, Look, we either can't afford it or nobody will ever want to use it or we can't get the equipment. What we have in the middle is a set of facts, which is that this regulation has been developed over a long period of time, starting back in 2004, in that, if you have a financial hardship and if you can't do it, you can waive it. If the equipment is not available, if it's not achievable, there are tax credits for it. The issue here is really whether there is enough heart among the hotel owners to make sure that Americans who are disabled have the same opportunities. That's the real question here. So we don't have a vote on this. There is no amendment pending. I just want the House to be clear that one of the reasons you don't authorize on an appropriations bill is that this is a matter for the Judiciary Committee. They've held a hearing on it. There is a set of facts that gets kind of bottled up when we're dealing with this spending of dollars; but there is no reason here for a country as big as ours and as wealthy as ours to have so little heart and compassion for those who are less fortunate, who are disabled, so that they can have access as they travel and deal with public accommodations. I yield back the balance of my time.
