Barack on the 18th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

[Hope And Change]

Barack on the 18th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

By http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/person/gGXys9">Christopher Hass - Jul 26th, 2008 at 1:27 pm EDT

Today marks the 18th anniversary of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990">Americans with Disabilities Act, a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, discrimination based on disability. The ADA opened doors and increased opportunities for millions of Americans, but there is still work to be done.

To mark today's anniversary, Senator Obama released the following statement:

On this anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, I’m reminded of my father-in-law, Fraser Robinson, who contracted multiple sclerosis at a young age. My wife Michelle watched him go from a vibrant and athletic young man to a man who used two canes to get himself to his job as a shift worker. But despite the illness that sapped him of his energy, he never missed a day of work; he just woke up a little earlier and worked a little harder. He never wanted special treatment – he just wanted to be treated like everyone else.

That’s the very promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act. For decades, people with disabilities fought to eliminate everyday discrimination by seeking equal access to education, public places, and the voting booth. And eighteen years ago this weekend, Democrats, Republicans, and disparate groups of all kinds came together around that common purpose to provide all Americans with a disability a full, fair and equal opportunity to reach for the American Dream.

Because of the ADA, a woman with a disability can take public transportation to a workplace that has the accommodations she needs. Because of the ADA, a returning veteran can get around in a wheelchair more easily. Because of the ADA, a student with a disability can study with accessible materials and learn in accessible classrooms.

These are incredible achievements. But as with our other shared struggles for equal rights, our work is not done. Until every child with a disability can learn on an equal playing field; until every worker with a disability can apply for a job without fear of discrimination; until every disabled American can cast their ballot in an accessible voting booth and live an independent life, we have more work to do.

As President, I will build on the ADA’s promise so that we make as much progress over the next eighteen years as we have over the last eighteen. That begins with reinforcing the original legislation. Recent decisions by the Supreme Court have severely restricted application of the law by creating a narrower definition of “disability.” As a result, people with disabilities like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer can be fired from their jobs because they have those conditions. That’s unacceptable. When I am President, I will strengthen implementation and enforcement of the ADA by signing the ADA Amendments Act into law.

Remarkable progress has been made in education. But while students with disabilities are attending college in record numbers, their graduation rates still lag behind other students. That’s why I’ll fight for sufficient funding for vocational rehabilitation programs that provide the training and job support necessary for success in college and beyond, and supportive employment so that people with developmental disabilities will have the supports and services they need to become employed and remain employed. And because it’s long past time Congress kept its part of the bargain to help all our children fulfill their potential, I strongly support full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Because too many persons with disabilities still face barriers to employment due to discrimination, I’ll make sure the Department of Justice has the resources necessary to enforce the law, reinstate an Executive Order that mandates the hiring of 100,000 employees with disabilities into the federal workforce within five years, and fully fund the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Because too many still face barriers to full participation in our democracy, I’ll fight for full funding for the Help America Vote Act, so that polling places are uniformly accessible and all citizens with disabilities can perform their fundamental duty of citizenship.

Because too many still face barriers to living fully independent lives and competing in the workforce, I strongly support Senator Harkin’s Community Choice Act, which eliminates institutional bias in Medicaid and empowers Americans with disabilities to make their own living arrangements and decisions, and Senator Kennedy’s CLASS Act, which finances long-term services and supports for individuals with functional needs so that they can live independently in their homes and communities without impoverishing themselves to qualify for Medicaid.

And I will finally guarantee quality health care for anyone who wants it, make it affordable and portable for everyone, and stop insurance companies from discriminating and denying coverage to those who need it most, and I will sign it into law by the end of my first term as President of the United States.

Today, more than one in six Americans lives with a disability. The rest of us love somebody with one. And so we all have an obligation to ensure that they have the opportunity to reach for the American Dream. As we celebrate the anniversary of this extraordinary legislation, let us recommit ourselves to building a world free of unnecessary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimination on the path to creating the more perfect union that we seek.

- Senator Barack Obama

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/dahome/">


You can http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/">read more about Barack's plan to provide Americans with disabilities with the educational and employment opportunities they need to be successful, as well as ending discrimination and providing support for independent, community-based living.

Visit the http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/dahome/">Americans with Disabilites for Obama page for to learn how you can get involved, as well as http://www.disaboom.com/barackobama , a unique online community designed to connect people with disabilities.


http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/stateupdates/gGxyMl">Link

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