Tammy Duckworth speaking at a press conference in support of the Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities in Washington, DC.
Efforts by disability activists from across the nation to preserve and protect the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have sent a clear message to Congress in recent weeks to safeguard equal access to stores, restaurants, and other public accommodations. The message to Congress has been loud and clear: “Hands Off My ADA!” If passed into law “notice and cure” legislation would segregate Americans living with disabilities as the only federally-protected class of citizens forced to rely on “education,” rather than enforcement of the law, to exercise their basic civil rights.
In February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 620 which, if adopted by the Senate, would make it much more difficult for people with disabilities to use the ADA to secure access. This morning, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth and 42 other Democratic U.S. Senators issued a letter signaling strong resistance by an ever-increasing number of Senators to any legislation that would weaken progress guaranteed by the ADA in any bill similar to HR 620 that contains "notice and cure" provisions.
"We are writing to express our strong opposition to the ADA Education and Reform Act and any legislation that would repeal or weaken rights under title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability in certain places of public accommodation," wrote the Senators in a strongly worded letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "This bill undermines the rights of people with disabilities, rather than protects them. We urge you to join us in supporting the rights of Americans with disabilities by making clear that H.R. 620, or similar legislation, will never receive a vote in the United States Senate during the 115th Congress."
The leadership demonstrated by Senator Duckworth—a member of our disability community herself—and scores of activists from across the nation who urged Senators to speak out, take a stand, and go on record voicing their rejection to any and all attempts to force "notice and cure" on a 28-year-old law that everyone should already be following is significant. The Senate letter affirms strong and growing support for activist efforts to squash further attempts by Congress and industry big wigs to rollback Title III protections provided by the ADA.
This is clearly a sign of progress, but as we learned last year during efforts by Congressional Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, there is always the danger of another threat to equal access, civil rights, and disability justice just around the next legislative corner. The business community is unlikely to simply accept defeat. So we must always remain vigilant and continue our campaign against any changes that weaken the ADA. Stay tuned for important action alerts to ensure the ADA remains intact.
Web-friendly version of the letter written by Senator Duckworth signed by a total of 43 United States Senators.
Read Senator Duckworth's news release about the letter, and why she opposes "notice and cure" legislation.