Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1504, ``Recognizing and honoring the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990'', introduced by my distinguished colleague from Maryland, and Majority Leader, Representative Hoyer. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in the last few decades, and has had overwhelmingly bipartisan support. It was implemented to ``provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.'' It places an affirmative obligation on employers, government entities, and places of public accommodation to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal chance to participate in mainstream American life, and that reasonable accommodations be made to remove barriers that might prevent full participation in society by people with disabilities. In the twenty years since ADA's enactment, it has had an undeniable, positive impact on the lives of disabled Americans. People in wheelchairs now have access to places they could never go twenty years ago, or only with great difficulty--movie theaters, restaurants, clothing stores, and government buildings. Now, people who use service animals to participate in regular daily life are allowed to bring them where they previously couldn't. The disabled are no longer excluded from places of business, mass transit, or schools.…”