Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990 TAG: 9007130789
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The Senate passed the bill 91-6 a day after the House approved it 377-28, culminating two years of legislative efforts.
The measure guarantees the nation's estimated 43 million disabled people access to jobs, transportation, telephone service and stores, restaurants, shopping malls and other public accommodations.
At the White House, presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the administration welcomed the final congressional passage of the measure.
"We congratulate the Congress for joining us in this landmark legislation," Fitzwater said. He said there would likely be a White House signing ceremony next week.
"When the president proposed this legislation, he said disabled Americans must become full partners in America's opportunity society. We consider passage of this important civil rights legislation to be among the most important accomplishments of the administration," Fitzwater said.
Bush earlier this year urged Congress to speed passage of the bill, which has been called the most significant piece of civil rights legislation since the 1964 act that guaranteed rights for blacks and other racial minorities.
Voting against the legislation were Sens. Christopher Bond, R-Mo.; Jake Garn, R-Utah; Jesse Helms, R-N.C.; Gordon Humphrey, R-N.H.; Steve Symms, R-Idaho; and Malcolm Wallop, R-Wyo.,
Not voting were Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; James McClure, R-Idaho; and Alan Simpson, R-Wyo.
The vote followed a brief debate that included a speech in sign language by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chief Senate sponsor of the bill.
Harkin paid silent tribute to his deaf brother. Harkin later explained, "I wanted to say to my brother Frank that today was my proudest day in 16 years in Congress."
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said the bill "ensures that millions of men and women and children can look forward to the day when they will be judged by the strength of their abilities, not misconceptions about their disabilities."
"It is a comprehensive piece of legislation that will have a dramatic impact not only on the disabled but on the consciousness of America as well," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the lead House sponsor of the bill said after the House vote.
Hoyer added that Bush "will be ecstatic to sign this bill with the largest possible crowd he can invite."
Bush has vetoed other major domestic legislation - minimum wage and family medical leave. A special commission under former President Reagan had urged a disabilities bill, however.
A key supporter has been James Brady, the former White House press secretary who suffered a disabling head injury when shot in the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan.
Business, transportation systems and local governments will bear most of the costs of the bill. Supporters say businesses will ultimately benefit by the increased participation of disabled people in the economy, and the federal government will pay less for welfare and special support.
The House on Thursday accepted a compromise provision that helps protect the jobs of AIDS-infected workers in food industries, including restaurants.
All Virginia representatives except Jim Olin, D-Roanoke, and Herbert Bateman, R-Newport News, voted for the bill.
Under the legislation, the Health and Human Services Department must determine which diseases are transmitted by food handling. HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan, a physician, has told lawmakers that AIDS cannot be transmitted by handling food.
The bill phases in its requirements and exempts businesses with fewer than 15 employees from its hiring requirements. Small businesses would have more time than larger ones to make their premises accessible to disabled customers, but no change would be required that would cause a financial hardship to companies.
Transportation requirements, including making all new buses accessible to people with wheelchairs, would occur over years. Amtrak and commuter rail lines will be covered.
The bill does not list disabilities that are covered, saying rather that anyone is disabled who has a mental or physical impairment that limits a person "in some major life function." It also includes anyone perceived as being disabled, such as someone with a disfiguring scar.
The bill specifically excludes, however, active drug users and people with mental disorders such as pyromania or kleptomania that could lead to criminal behavior. Although the bill protects people who suffer from AIDS - large numbers of them homosexuals - it does not protect homosexuals per se.
by CNB