Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to join my colleagues in marking the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. As the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, I am particularly proud of this legislation and the impact it has had on addressing the rights and needs of people with disabilities all across the country for the past 20 years. As we mark this great anniversary, I also want to express my great appreciation for the hard work and determined effort those with a vision of equality and justice put into seeing this bill through the legislative process. It was a courageous and heroic cause and it has made a difference in more lives than we will ever know. Just 20 years ago this month, on July 26, 1990, President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law. It is without question the most important civil rights legislation that has been passed by the Congress since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was such a great achievement because it reflected our fundamental and growing concern for human rights by extending civil rights protections to all Americans with disabilities. Prior to the passage of the ADA, far too many of our fellow Americans with disabilities led isolated lives, artificially separated from the mainstream of society, denied the basic opportunity to pursue the American dream.…”