Saturday, February 09, 2008

"ADA Authors Rebut Critics of ADA Restoration"

Reunify Gally is full of links and information about the ADA Restoration Act. The most recent post shares a letter that Representatives Hoyer and Sensbrenner wrote in response to points raised in opposition to the ADA Restoration Act. These representatives were part of the drafting of the original ADA and are now leaders in the bipartisan work on the Restoration Act.

Here's a portion of the letter:

"The clarification of the definition of the ADA is by no means a “radical change.” Moreover, it will ensure that those who “are deserving of” the ADA’s protections will be covered by the law. We hope you agree that people “deserving of the ADA’s protections” include the many people with epilepsy, diabetes, heart conditions, depression, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and intellectual disabilities who have been told by the courts they are not “disabled enough” to gain protection under the ADA."

And,
"Finally, passage of this law will not overwhelm the EEOC and cause it to be unable to do its job. The statistics on the number of charges filed with the EEOC, and the number of findings of reasonable cause, are closely comparable to other civil rights statutes protecting our citizens. As you are aware, any individual who charges discrimination under any of the civil rights laws must prove that the discrimination occurred because of an illegitimate factor."

Check out this post at Reunify Gally for both the criticisms and the full response to the criticisms.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have Multiple Sclerosis. Sadly, the ADA in its current form pretty much requires that people with MS be virtually immobile (I believe the criteria include something like "unable to move 2 or more limbs, and/or legally blind") in order to qualify for protection. Social Security Disability stipulates similar (if not even more rigorous) critera. This leaves a lot of chronically ill people in a serious bind. I work 3 jobs and go to school full time, and no one helps me with anything. Not even my laundry. Yet I am far from "well." I quite simply have no choice but to suck it up, push through the pain/sickness/crushing fatigue/etc. and keep doing everything that I have to be doing. Somehow, it doesn't seem right to me at all.