New Legislation improves Americans with Disabilities Act
This past summer on July 26, during a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama and advocates for people with disabilities, joined together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA into federal law. The ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities. In the United States, one in six Americans or approximately 43 million people live with a disability. Examples of what the act created can be seen in any American community. Automatic doors in buildings, handicap access ramps & parking spaces, sidewalk ramps, accommodating seats in arenas and theaters; these facets of society were a result of the Americans with Disability Act. A disability is defined by the ADA as, “a physical or mental impairment that substantially affects a major life activity.”
In his remarks at the White House on the exact day of the 20th anniversary of the ADA, President Obama updated several aspects of the law, thus improving the quality of the law and making it more comprehensive. With the enhancements to the initial ADA legislation, the federal government will strive to set the national standard for the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of people with disabilities. “We’re also placing a new focus on hiring Americans with disabilities across the federal government. Today, only 5 percent of the federal workforce is made up of Americans with disabilities – far below the proportion of Americans with disabilities in the general population,” Obama said before signing the new legislation.
The President also announced that the United States joined 140 other countries in signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is the first new human rights convention of the 21st century. Furthermore, the new legislation will:
* Improve medical care and treatment for wounded military veterans.
* Attempt to make all government websites accessible to persons with disabilities.
* Expand broadband Internet access to deaf or hard of hearing Americans.
* Create three new disability offices at the State Department, Department of Transportation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In his 1990 speech at the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act President George H.W. Bush said, “Our problems are large, but our unified heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And in our America, the most generous, optimistic nation on the face of the Earth, we must not and will not rest until every man and woman with a dream has the means to achieve it.”
Perhaps in the next twenty years, the legislation created by the Americans with Disabilities Act can continue to allow equal access and opportunities for people with disabilities. I believe that America can continue to lead the world in encouraging fairness to people with disabilities. The words of President Bush and President Obama reinforce the commitment that America has as a leader for ensuring equal rights and human dignity to all of its citizens. Not only does the ADA provide legal protection to Americans with disabilities it also establishes goals to ensure that each American citizen can display their talents and reach their fullest potential.
In his remarks at the White House on the exact day of the 20th anniversary of the ADA, President Obama updated several aspects of the law, thus improving the quality of the law and making it more comprehensive. With the enhancements to the initial ADA legislation, the federal government will strive to set the national standard for the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of people with disabilities. “We’re also placing a new focus on hiring Americans with disabilities across the federal government. Today, only 5 percent of the federal workforce is made up of Americans with disabilities – far below the proportion of Americans with disabilities in the general population,” Obama said before signing the new legislation.
The President also announced that the United States joined 140 other countries in signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is the first new human rights convention of the 21st century. Furthermore, the new legislation will:
* Improve medical care and treatment for wounded military veterans.
* Attempt to make all government websites accessible to persons with disabilities.
* Expand broadband Internet access to deaf or hard of hearing Americans.
* Create three new disability offices at the State Department, Department of Transportation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In his 1990 speech at the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act President George H.W. Bush said, “Our problems are large, but our unified heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And in our America, the most generous, optimistic nation on the face of the Earth, we must not and will not rest until every man and woman with a dream has the means to achieve it.”
Perhaps in the next twenty years, the legislation created by the Americans with Disabilities Act can continue to allow equal access and opportunities for people with disabilities. I believe that America can continue to lead the world in encouraging fairness to people with disabilities. The words of President Bush and President Obama reinforce the commitment that America has as a leader for ensuring equal rights and human dignity to all of its citizens. Not only does the ADA provide legal protection to Americans with disabilities it also establishes goals to ensure that each American citizen can display their talents and reach their fullest potential.
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