We
all want to live in communities where businesses prosper and
create good jobs. Many businesses have made great
strides in making sure that people with disabilities have
equal access to
stores and businesses, theaters, and stadiums. The
goals and standards set forth in the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) guide that progress.
Today,
legislation moving through Congress
threatens to neutralize equal enforcement of the
ADA.
ADA Education & Reform
Act
The ADA Education & Reform Act (H.R.
620) would make it harder for people with disabilities to
enforce their rights under the ADA. The Act would create
numerous hurdles for people with disabilities to clear before
a business would be required to remove physical barriers.
These obstacles would interfere with the right of people with
disabilities to shop, watch a movie, eat in a restaurant,
attend a local baseball game, and so many more things most
people take for granted.
The bill effectively punishes
businesses, which abide by the law, and rewards businesses,
which ignore the law. Our local economies will lose customers.
Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives'
Judiciary committee approved H.R. 620, paving the way for a
vote by the full House.
ACTION:
Call Your Members of Congress
Contact your
Members today:
- Urge
them to oppose the ADA Education & Reform Act.
- Tell
them that making sure our commercial sector accessible is in
the best interests of all Americans.
Call the Capitol Switchboard: (202)
224-3121
ADA
is Good for Business
The ADA affirms that we
don’t have to choose between the civil rights of people with
disabilities and thriving businesses. The law embodies a
thoughtful consensus that unites the interests of the business
community with the interests of people with disabilities. The
more people who can get through the doors of their local
businesses and maneuver down store aisles, the more dollars
that are invested in our local economies.
ADA
Provides Tools to Help
Businesses
The ADA provides tools and support to
businesses that seek to comply with their legal requirements.
- Federal
agencies are required to assist businesses in understanding
the requirements of the law at no cost to the business.
- The ADA National Network has helped
millions of businesses to make their stores and offices
accessible to more customers.
Oregonians
with disabilities need equal access to businesses so that they
can be part of the fabric of our communities. Expanding access
to local businesses will help them to
thrive.
Best,
Ted Wenk
Managing
Attorney
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