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WHEREAS, July 26, 2020, marks the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), passed by the Congress of the United States and signed into law by President George Herbert Walker Bush; and
WHEREAS, the ADA has been among the most impactful and salient civil rights laws passed by the United States Congress, and served as a model for disability rights in other countries; and
WHEREAS, prior to the ADA, intolerance, misunderstanding, ignorance, and unfair, unjust, and inaccurate stereotypes too often prohibited the full participation of individuals with disabilities in society; and
WHEREAS, the unyielding dedication of passionate and courageous disability rights advocates made it indelibly clear to the people of the country and lawmakers in Congress that action was necessary to counter the daily discrimination and prejudice faced by individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, those legislators worked produced a bipartisan legislative package to outlaw discrimination against individuals with disabilities that was ultimately signed into law and that held as its purpose the fulfillment of the goals of opportunity, independent living, integration, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities, requires that state and local governmental entities accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities, requires a place of public accommodation to take reasonable steps to ensure that the goods and services it provides are accessible to individuals with disabilities, and requires new trains and busses to be accessible to individuals with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, this history-making legislation has supported more than 55 million individuals in the United States who have disabilities as they more actively participated in society by removing barriers to employment, transportation, public services, teleco...
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