Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the misleadingly titled ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 620), which would severely undermine the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Rebecca Cokley, senior fellow who focuses on disability policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement in response:
Today, the House of Representatives voted to roll back the clock on disability rights by 28 years to when the ADA was first enacted. The legislation passed today by the House would take the teeth out of the ADA’s mandate that public accommodations be accessible to people with disabilities by creating onerous red tape for disabled individuals seeking to enforce their rights under the law. As a disabled person who grew up knowing I had a shot at the American dream thanks to the ADA, I am horrified to watch Congress tell me, and the 1 in 5 Americans with disabilities, that we do not deserve the same rights as other Americans. And as a mother of three children with disabilities, I am terrified that they will not have the opportunities I had thanks to the ADA if this bill becomes law. The Senate should not take up this shameful legislation, and instead throw it in the trash where it belongs.
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