ADA Anniversary Reinvigorates Advocates for the Disabled in Pushing for Equal Access
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 7/28/2006
Sixteen years after President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, advocates for the disabled continue to push for rights that enable the disabled to live more independently."We have a struggle ahead of us," said Rick Lazio, executive vice-president of JPMorgan Chase, who received a 2006 Justice For All award from the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) at the organization's anniversary event on July 26.
In addition, AAPD presented Justice for All awards to Rep. Danny Davis, D. Ill., Rep. Jim Ramstad, R. Minn., Pennsylvania SILC Executive Director Corey Rowley, and ADAPT National Organizer Bob Kafka. AAPD also presented its Thomas Paine Award to MIT Professor Ted Selker, who has pioneered accessible voting machines that improve the accuracy of elections.
Advocates, activists, and legislators at the AAPD event talked about the need to push for further legislation that would grant equal access to people with disabilities including treatment parity, personal attendant services, and independent living. "There is no justice for all until all people with disabilities can enjoy the dignity of independent living," said Rep. Jim Ramstad, R. Minn.
At the fore of the current disability movement is the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (S. 401/HR. 910), nicknamed MiCassa. The measure would make it possible for services to be delivered, "in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual" in a home or community setting, which could include a school, workplace, or religious facility.
Bob Kafka, considered by many the definitive activist for disabled Americans' rights, said that MiCassa will pass when people in the field get "angry" enough and recognize MiCassa as "a civil rights issue."
The ADA, signed on July 26, 1990, is considered one of the most significant of civil rights laws passed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, from which it draws heavily. It protects individuals with physical and mental disabilities against discrimination in areas such as employment, public accommodations, and transportation.
The ADA changed the landscape of America, increasing access for individuals with disabilities and making buses with chairlifts, ramps into hotels, and government buildings and wheelchair accessible restrooms commonplace.
