Hoyer Honors 35th Anniversary of ADA
In honor of the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act becoming law, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer joined disability rights leaders and others to host a panel discussion and screening of “American Experience’s Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act.”
The discussion was moderated by Judy Woodruff and featured guest speakers, former congressmen Tony Coelho and Steve Bartlett and Chana Gazit, producer and director at American Experience.
Watch the film and panel discussion here.
The discussion centered around the making of the documentary and how lawmakers and disability rights activists helped shape the ADA. The panelists reflected on how the ADA changed the civil rights landscape for people with disabilities, as well as the challenges posed by cuts to health care and employment assistance programs.
“The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act is a story of profound civic engagement, faithful bipartisanship, and fearless activism,” Congressman Hoyer (D-MD) said. “As one can see from this feature documentary and our panel discussion, the ADA did not just widen doors, build ramps, install audible warnings, and require Braille translations. It was a call to action, and we are a better nation because of those who answered it.”
He said that passing the ADA will always be one of his proudest accomplishments during his time in public service and it remains his inspiration as he works to ensure equal employment opportunities and affordable health care access.
“We have more work to do to welcome people with disabilities into public life with the dignity and respect they deserve,” Rep. Hoyer said.
“The ADA has been tremendously successful in providing millions of individuals with a better quality of life, to other initiatives to empower people with disabilities to fully participate in American life. It has helped remove barriers to access to employment, transportation, communications, recreation, and more. We have continued to make great progress since the passage of the ADA, but we have a lot more to do. Disability rights are civil rights, and we must keep up the work to protect all people living with disabilities in every area of their lives, and ensure equal access to all the same spaces, resources, and opportunities,” said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI).
“The Americans with Disabilities Act expressed one simple, but revolutionary truth: that disabled people belong in every aspect of public life. Thirty-five years after its passing, disability advocates are still working to make this truth a consistent reality. This film is a great reminder that at every stage of its development, from idea to draft language, from legislation to becoming law, the ADA has had to be defended, just as disabled people have constantly defended our existence. We will keep fighting to defend, protect, and advance the promise of the ADA over the next thirty years so that our nation’s future is more inclusive than its past,” said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.
Congressman Hoyer is chair of the Regional Leadership Council.
For more information about Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.
