Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 1990, then-President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. It was the most significant federal civil rights legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both signed by President Lyndon Johnson. And overall it has been a tremendous success. The ADA was enacted to protect individuals with disabilities from being discriminated against in employment, public entities and transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. It created a promise of inclusion and equal opportunity, so that all Americans can live up to their full potential, encouraging and enabling individuals with disabilities to participate in the social and economic fabric of American life. As a result of the ADA, millions more people with disabilities are working, living independently, and actively using public accommodations that so many of us take for granted. But it was not the first legislation to do so. Mr. Speaker, in the early 1980s, when I was a member of the Virginia General Assembly, sixty-four disability organizations formed a coalition known as INVEST--INsure Virginians Equal Status Today--to pass a state statute in Virginia to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination.…”