The following is a press release from Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah who along with Senator Harkin of Iowa have sponsored a bi-partisan bill to overturn the Supreme Court’s narrowing of the scope and application of the ADA. Here is an un-annotated version of the pending bill. Download ada_restoration_bill.doc
The bill has already passed the House. The reforms in the bill would also apply to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (Nod to Jess Butler of COPAA for making both the draft bill and press release available)
ADA Amendments Act Responds To Supreme Court Decisions that Wrongly Narrowed Definition of Disabilitiy
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – One week after the 18th anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, Senators Tom Harkin
(D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced legislation last night that
would clarify the law’s intent and ensure that all Americans with
disabilities are protected from discrimination.
The ADA
Amendments Act, S. 3406, is co-sponsored by Senators Kennedy, Enzi,
Specter, Obama, McCain, Dodd, Gregg, Clinton, Alexander, Johnson,
Roberts, Kerry, Coleman, Feingold, Snowe, Leahy, Dole, Burr, Brown,
Smith, Durbin, Murkowski, Lautenberg, Warner, Sanders, Brownback, Reed,
Martinez, Mikulski, Isakson, Casey, Craig, Murray, Bennett, Landrieu,
Collins, Biden, Allard, Nelson, Sununu, Cardin, Thune, Levin, Barrasso,
McCaskill, Crapo, Schumer, Stevens, Salazar, Voinovich, Tester,
Cochran, Reid, Luger, Chambliss, Boxer, Feinstein, Klobuchar, Stabenow,
Kohl, Lincoln, Menendez, and Wyden.
The
bill is similar to bipartisan legislation introduced in the House by
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. That
bill passed by a 402-17 margin last month.
Considered to be one
of the landmark civil rights laws of the 20th century, the ADA was
designed to protect any individual who is discriminated against on the
basis of disability. The law was passed with overwhelming bipartisan
support and was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
Since
the ADA became law, a series of court decisions have unduly narrowed
the category of who qualifies as an “individual with a disability,”
contrary to Congressional intent. By raising the threshold for an
impairment to qualify as a disability, these court decisions have
deprived individuals of the discrimination protections Congress
intended to provide.
The
ADA Amendments Act would remedy this problem and restore workplace
protections to every American with a disability. The bill leaves the
ADA’s familiar disability definition intact, but takes several specific
steps to direct courts toward a more generous meaning and application
of the definition. The legislation would make it easier for people with
disabilities to be covered by the ADA because it effectively expands
the definition of disability to include many more major life
activities, as well as a new category of major bodily functions.
“Just
like the bi-partisan passage of the original ADA, this bill has been
conceived and crafted in a spirit of genuine bipartisanship – members
of both parties coming together to do the right thing for Americans
with disabilities,” said Harkin. “The erosions of rights created by
these court cases have created a bizarre catch-22 where people with
serious conditions like epilepsy or diabetes could be forced to choose
between treating their conditions and forfeiting their protections
under the ADA, or not treating their conditions and being protected.
That is not what Congress intended when we passed the law, and this
bill is the right fix.”
Hatch,
who played a critical role in the development and passage of the
original ADA, said: “Working with my good friend Tom Harkin, who has
been a tireless advocate on behalf of the disabled, we were able to
craft a strong bipartisan bill, which is a landmark piece of
legislation that will ensure the disabled share in the American dream.
“This
is a monumental bill that people from across the political spectrum can
wholeheartedly endorse.” Hatch added. “It strikes an appropriate
balance in broadening and safeguarding ADA protections for our disabled
fellow Americans without introducing provisions that courts could once
again misconstrue. It further safeguards institutions of higher
learning from being forced to compromise academic standards.”