ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080086
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: DAVID PACE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE CONGRESS has been slow to apply to itself the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed six years ago. The election of Max Cleland may change that.
Tuesday's election wasn't Max Cleland's only obstacle to serving in the Senate. Still to be overcome by the Georgia Democrat are antiquated subways in the Capitol complex, inaccessible bathrooms and the tiered floor of the Senate chamber.
Cleland lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam and has used a wheelchair since 1974. That means he won't be able to join other senators when they cast their votes in the well of the Senate, unless the chamber is modified.
In most Senate hearing rooms, ramps will have to be constructed to provide him access to the dais where senators' desks are located. Capitol subway trains and bathrooms also can pose barriers.
``There will have to be some modifications,'' said Henry Kilby, an administrator in the office of the Architect of the Capitol. ``We have not been asked to do anything yet, but we are looking into it, knowing that he has been elected.''
Tom Eisenhauer, a spokesman for Cleland's campaign, said the officials from the office of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and the clerk of the Senate have initiated discussions about ways to remove the physical barriers to Cleland's Senate service.
Subway trains connecting the Russell Senate Office Building and the Capitol are not accessible to wheelchairs, while bathroom doors in the Hart building are too narrow. In the third Senate office building, the Dirksen, the bathroom doors are wide enough and the new subway trains are available - but only by riding first to the Hart building and then back to Dirksen.
Modifications also had to be made to the Department of Veterans Affairs building two decades ago when President Carter picked Cleland to head that agency. Among other things, the director's private bathroom had to be altered because it was accessible only by steps.
``Obviously, it's not a new challenge for Max, but he's spent the last 30 years dealing with that challenge,'' said Eisenhauer. ``I'm sure the people of the Senate will do all they can to make it as accessible as possible.''
The Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law six years ago, requires that public buildings be accessible to those with disabilities. But Congress did not apply that law to itself until 1995, and many parts of the complex still are not in compliance, particularly areas not used by tourists.
Cleland is not the first senator to serve from a wheelchair. John East, a North Carolina Republican who had polio, used one in the few weeks before his death in 1989.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB