House Passes ADA Amendments Act, Expanding Civil Rights for People with Disabilities
Feature Story by Jake Liscow - 6/27/2008
On June 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed by a decisive vote of 402-17 the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which will restore Congress' original intent to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a major civil rights law passed in 1990.
The amendments will overturn Supreme Court decisions that have reduced protections for certain people with disabilities – including people with diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, mental disabilities, and cancer – who should have been covered by the ADA. The ADA prohibits discrimination against Americans with physical and mental disabilities in such areas as employment, public accommodations, and transportation.
"With the ADA Amendments Act, we make it clear today that a cramped reading of disability rights will be replaced by a definition that is broad and fair" said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D. Md., during debate on the bill. Rep. Hoyer was the lead sponsor on the original ADA in 1990.
Earlier in the day at a press conference marking the vote, with civil rights advocates, representatives of the disability community and employer groups present, Hoyer said, "Every one of the people here has abilities, and that's what ADA says."
"Millions of Americans will be able to pursue their dreams and be full American citizens," said Rep. George Miller, D. Calif., "And that is what the courts did not understand."
In an unprecedented show of cooperation, disability rights, civil rights, and employer groups worked together to propose language that eventually became part of the bill, which made it easier for the House to vote on it quickly.
"All parties recognize we are working for the same goal," said Jay Timmons of National Association of Manufacturers, an industrial trade association. "No one intended for the original ADA to exclude people from work."
Elizabeth Goldberg, founder of the Epilepsy Foundation's Youth Council, said that restoring the original intent of ADA "will remove my fear of being discriminated against because of my epilepsy."
"It will make sure people don't worry about whether or not they get a job because of a disability. This bill opens the possibility to employers to get the best person for the job, and allows for people like me, who are qualified, to get the job," said Goldberg.
Rep. Rob Andrews, D. N.J., described other benefits to the bill. "This bill is a partial answer to our economic woes. We don't have our best team on the field," he said. "We're not just doing it because it's right – it is – but we're doing it because it's smart. We're going to put our best team on the field to help America grow."
