Protecting the Rights of Disabled Americans

October marks a series of important observances to raise awareness for issues that demand national attention and advocacy.  We celebrate survivors and highlight the need to continue the fight against cancer by observing National Breast Cancer Awareness Month; we note the importance of raising money and providing international resources to cure AIDS during AIDS Awareness Month; and we initiate campaigns to increase sensitivity to the abuse that plagues our nation by recognizing National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.   One equally important observance is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which provides us with an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions that millions of Americans with disabilities make to our workplaces and to reflect upon the huge, often overlooked, potential to improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Indeed, awareness has to be the first step to tearing down the barriers, both physical and social, that prevent the full participation of Americans with disabilities in our workplaces and communities. According to the National Organization on Disability there are 54 million Americans with disabilities, well over half of whom are of working age.  Only 32 percent of those who are of working age are employed full or even part time.  That compares to 81 percent of the rest of the population.  This employment gap reflects a shocking inequality that simply must be addressed if disabled Americans are to share in all that our nation has to offer. Most disturbing is that these figures do not represent people who do not want to work, but people who are consistently denied the opportunity to contribute to our nation's prosperity.  In America, the ability to provide for yourself and your family helps to defines one's identity and maintain one's self esteem.  Employment impacts every aspect of a person's life: access to independent living, home ownership, health care, advanced education, socializing and economic self-sufficiency.  Jobs are the ticket to inclusion and equality, freedom and integration.  Ultimately, National Disability Awareness Month calls us to strive to make improvements to the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, but this monthly observance is also a time for celebration as we recognize and acknowledge the skills, vision and commitment of people working with disabilities - many of whom benefited from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 and subsequent progress in improved access to employment. 

Earlier this year, I celebrated the 17^th Anniversary of the ADA, landmark legislation that extended civil rights to an estimated 43 million disabled Americans. As the lead sponsor of the ADA in the House of Representatives, I am proud that since 1990 we have seen signs of progress everywhere—ramps, curb cuts, Braille signs, captioned television programs, wheelchair lifts, and assistive listening devices at movie theatres, to name a few. Most importantly, the ADA has helped improve the attitudes Americans have toward people with disabilities. Winning the hearts and minds of the general public is an essential part of achieving true progress.

Despite this important and widespread advancement, the promise of the ADA remains unfulfilled for far too many. In recent years, the Supreme Court has slowly chipped away at the broad protections of the ADA and has created a new set of barriers for Americans with disabilities. Under the cramped interpretation of the ADA by the courts, a broad range of people with physical and mental impairments have been held not to be "disabled enough" to gain the protections of the law. This is not what Congress intended when it passed the ADA.