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ADA Restoration Act passes the House

House Floor Vote on ADA Restoration - What Went Down

At 4:15 PM, approximately two hours after the press conference on H.R. 3195, ADA Restoration, now known as the ADA Amendments Act, went to the House floor for debate and a final vote.  

Rep. George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, provided the first statement on the floor. Referencing House testimony given in the Education & Labor Committee earlier this year, Chairman Miller outlined the experience of Carey McClure, an electrician whose job offer was rescinded after his employer discovered he had muscular dystrophy, to explain the need for restoration of Congressional intent for the ADA. Next referencing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's support of the legislation, he went on to characterize the legislation as a balanced approach to ensure reasonable protections for people with disabilities.

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), Ranking Member of the House Education & Labor Committee, briefly spoke next, before reserving the remainder of his time, and referenced the process of negotiations between the employer and disability communities in arriving at the legislation before the House today, characterizing that process as truly one of give and take.  

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) spoke next, poignantly referring to his life as a person with a disability both before and after the ADA. He stated that he remembered when, before the ADA, reasonable accommodations were seen as personal courtesies rather than civil rights. He urged his fellow Members to vote for H.R. 3195 to send a strong message that discrimination would not be tolerated.  

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) next stated that people with disabilities just want the same opportunities as anyone else and that it's time to do the right thing and bring back the original intent of Congress in passing the ADA.  

After Rep. Woolsey, Rep. Robert Andrews  (D-NJ) spoke, saying that words have meanings and that when the ADA was passed, "disability" had a common sense interpretation. Andrews said that while Americans on the street could apply common sense to determine who was and wasn't disabled for purposes of the protections of the ADA, it was unfortunate that the same reasoning was not present on the Supreme Court. Andrews said that H.R. 3195 represents a fair set of standards, representing a well-struck balance. He stated that H.R. 3195 would stand as a "liberation of talents," enabling people with disabilities who have been kept out of the workplace to enter it.

Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) spoke next, stating that H.R. 3195 strikes the right balance between protections of people with disabilities and the obligations on businesses. He said it was better for Congress to say what they meant than to have the Supreme Court continue to say what Congress meant.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler  (D-NY) spoke after Blunt,  urging his fellow Members to pass H.R. 3195 to restore the ADA's place amongst the other great civil right laws. Nadler also cited the case of Mary Ann Pimental, a nurse with breast cancer who was told by the courts that her cancer was not long-term enough to constitute a disability (despite the fact that she died four months after the court decision).

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner  (R-WI) spoke next, noting that the legislation had undergone a number of changes since he first introduced the legislation in the 109th Congress and now enjoys the support of both the business and disability communities. Sensenbrenner said the passage of H.R. 3195 was of paramount importance to the continued transformation of the U.S. under the ADA. He then recognized his wife, Cheryl Sensenbrenner, board chair of the  American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), for her tireless efforts to see this legislation passed into law.

After Sensenbrenner spoke, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer  (D-MD) thanked Reps. Sensenbrenner, McKeon, Miller, and others, for their efforts to ensure that the bill moved forward. Hoyer referenced the original  ADA and spoke of all the indications of its success - elevators at the Metro, ramps at movie theatres, curb cuts - but said that the door that former President Bush had spoken of opening at the ADA's signing was still not 100% open for people with disabilities on account of the Supreme Court consistently chipping away at the rights given through the ADA. Hoyer also recognized and thanked the late Justin Dart and his wife Yoshiko Dart, for their continued leadership. 

Chairman of the House Judiciary John Conyers (D-MI) spoke next, saying it was a curious thing how the Supreme Court gave three decisions in 1999 slamming the fundamental interests Congress had articulated when they passed the ADA in 1990. Conyers said that the history of civil rights in the 20th and 21st centuries has involved dealing with an understood directive from Congress that civil rights laws are to be interpreted broadly and liberally, and that nonetheless, Congress has constantly needed to remind the Supreme Court of how it is to interpret civil rights laws, which he acknowledged was not a comforting situation for him as the Chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Referencing Stephen Orr, a pharmacist with diabetes who was fired for insisting on a lunch break to regulate his insulin levels, Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE) stated next that he, too, rose in support of the legislation.

Rep. Jerry Moran  (R-KS) spoke next, stating that all people are created by the same God and therefore all entitled to dignity, Moran also rose in support of H.R. 3195. Moran said no one wants "special rights," but rather everyone wants to be judged on their ability to perform. Moran went on to say that that is what H.R. 3195 is about and does. Quoting former Senator Bob Dole in his support of the original ADA, Moran said that he, too, seeks to end historic segregation.

Rep. McKeon spoke again following Moran, and spoke of the common ground that H.R. 3195 represents, acknowledging that some would have liked to have seen the bill go further and other wish it had not gone as far as it did. Overall, he said, it was neither an unreasonable expansion nor a dilution of existing rights.

Chairman Miller spoke again after McKeon, thanking the stalwarts of the disability rights movement in California, including thanks to Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, Jim McDonald, and others. Reflecting on his own time in office, Miller cited his work on 504 regs, 508, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and now the restoration of the ADA. He said that it was a tribute to this Congress that when we look at integration in this society, we as a nation are far better off, far richer than before the struggles with this law.

Rep. Sensenbrenner made the final remarks at the end of the floor debate, remarking how in the hour of floor time, we had seen how our nation's framers intended for Congress to work. He went on to say that there was a problem and people with diverse opinions have proven in this legislation that we can do something beneficial and can act as a model for people around the world to see American democracy working for the good of the people. He concluded by calling for a roll call of the votes that would follow after a postponement.

Visually Impaired Veterans Network

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