Political Quotes

“Madam President, I wish to commemorate the life of Judy Heumann, a leader in the disability rights movement, who passed away on March 4. Judy was an internationally recognized leader in the disability community. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of major disability rights legislation, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act--IDEA--the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She was a true public servant having served as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education from 1993 to 2001 and as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the Department of State from 2010 to 2017. In 1974, she helped develop legislation that became the IDEA while working on the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare--now the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which I am proud to chair. Judy became known as the ``mother of the disability rights movement'' when she fought to implement the Rehabilitation Act. Her activism was a defining moment in the disability and civil rights movement paving the way for the future legislation. Judy changed the world for the one in four Americans living with a disability and one in six individuals with disabilities around the world.…”