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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 7, 2008
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Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office) |
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HOLT HOSTS DISABILITIES ROUNDTABLE ON HOW
TO STRENGHTEN AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
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(Lawrence, NJ) – Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) today held a roundtable at Project Freedom – a disability housing project in Lawrence – with individuals with disabilities, disability rights groups, and legal advocates to discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Participants discussed the impact of the 1990 legislation and addressed recent Supreme Court decisions that have narrowed the scope of the law and created a new series of barriers for Americans with disabilities. Under this narrow interpretation, individuals with diabetes, heart conditions, epilepsy, mental retardation, cancer, and many others have been denied their rights under the ADA because they are labeled as “too functional” to be considered “disabled.”
Holt is an original cosponsor of the “Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act,” legislation that would amend the definition of disability so that individuals who Congress originally intended to protect from discrimination are again covered. The bill would require courts to focus on whether a person has experienced discrimination “on the basis of disability,” rather than requiring individuals with disabilities to demonstrate first that they are substantially limited in some major life activity. Holt held the discussion in anticipation of an upcoming mark-up of the legislation in Committee.
“This summer marked the 17th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, landmark legislation ensuring that individuals would not be discriminated on the basis of disability,” Holt said. “Today, we discussed the importance of the ADA and why we need to restore it to its original intent. The legislation I support would reaffirm the ADA’s mandate for the elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability and allow the ADA to reclaim its place among our nation’s most important civil rights laws.”
Participants at the roundtable included representatives from NAMI Mercer, the Progressive Center for Independent Living, Epilepsy Foundation of NJ, American Diabetes Association, Easter Seals, NJ Division of Disabilities Services, the Arc of NJ, Union for Reform Judaism, the Brain Injury Association of NJ, and the Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities.
“Representative Rush Holt, in convening a roundtable discussion today, is recognizing critical issues and the ways in which individuals with disabilities and their families are suffering from the lack of adequate services. The barriers to attracting and retaining a competent workforce to provide services to individuals with developmental disabilities has reached crisis proportions for families and providers of service,” said Deborah Spitalnik, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities
Holt told participants that he expects the House Committee on Education and Labor, of which he is a member, to mark up the ADA Restoration Act.
“The Supreme Court has created an absurd Catch 22 where an employer may say a person is “too disabled” to perform a job but not “disabled enough” to be protected under the ADA,” Holt said. “Our legislation would help ensure that individuals who Congress originally intended to protect from discrimination are again protected.”
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