[blindlaw] FW: Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Restore ADA Protections

[Noel Nightingale]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-justice at jfanow.org [mailto:owner-justice at jfanow.org] On
Behalf Of Justice For All Moderator
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 1:10 PM
To: justice at jfanow.org
Subject: Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Restore ADA Protections


Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Restore ADA Protections

U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on the Judiciary
F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman

News Advisory
September 29, 2006
http://judiciary.house.gov/media/pdfs/ADAbillintro92906.pdf

Contacts: Jeff Lungren/Terry Shawn
          (Sensenbrenner, (202) 225-2492)

          Stacey Farnen Bernards
          (Hoyer, (202) 225-3130)

       Sensenbrenner/Hoyer Introduce Bipartisan Legislation
       Restoring Americans with Disabilities Act Protections
                
WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James 
Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-WI) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer 
(D-MD) today introduced bipartisan legislation that would restore
protections for disabled Americans under the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). H.R. 6258 is titled the 
"Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act of 2006." 

Chairman Sensenbrenner stated, "The landmark American with 
Disabilities Act has helped ensure American citizens no longer 
live in isolation but live as independent, self sufficient 
members of our communities. In recent years, however, the Supreme Court
has slowly chipped away at the broad protections of the ADA and has
created a new set of barriers for disabled Americans. 
This bipartisan legislation will enable disabled Americans 
utilizing the ADA to focus on the discrimination that they have 
experienced rather than having to first prove that they fall 
within the scope of the ADA's protection. With this bill, the 
ADA's 'clear and comprehensive national mandate for the 
elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability' will be
properly restored and the ADA can rightfully reclaim its place 
among our Nation's civil rights laws."

Congressman Hoyer said: "As the lead Democratic sponsor of the 
ADA in the House, I harbored no illusions that this legislation 
would topple centuries of prejudice overnight - nor that we could
legislate that prejudice out of existence. Over the last 16 
years, this landmark law has ushered in significant change. 
However, the promise of the ADA remains unfulfilled. The Supreme Court's
interpretations of this historic law have been largely 
inconsistent with the original intent of Congress and President 
George H.W. Bush in enacting the ADA. For example, people with 
diabetes, heart conditions and cancer have had their ADA claims 
kicked out of court because, with improvements in medication, 
they are considered 'too functional' to be considered 'disabled.' This
is not what Congress intended when it passed the ADA. We 
intended the law to be broadly - not narrowly - interpreted. The point
of the law is not disability; the point is discrimination. 
I am pleased to join Chairman Sensenbrenner in introducing this 
legislation, which will help restore the original intent of the 
ADA."
 
"Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act" Background: Replacing
"against an individual with a disability" with "on the basis of a
disability" harmonizes the ADA with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
other civil rights laws that prohibit 
discrimination "on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin,
and sex."

Prohibiting discrimination "on the basis of a disability" will 
enable individuals utilizing the ADA to focus on the 
discrimination that they have experienced rather than having to 
prove that they fall within the intended scope of the ADA. This 
phrase presumes that an individual is a member of the protected 
class if they are disabled, which the current language - "against an
individual with a disability" - does not.

______________________________________________________________

For more ADA in the news issues, see:
http://www.aapd.com/News/adainthe/indexada.php

# # #

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