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Protection from discrimination
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Posted on Sep 22 2008
The U.S. House of Representatives gave its approval to legislation to stop discrimination against individuals with disabilities by restoring the original Congressional intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
S. 3406, which was approved by the U.S. Senate on Sept. 11, 2008, will soon be on its way to the President, who is expected to sign it into law.
As an ardent advocate for individuals with disabilities, I join the members of Congress who hail that this important legislation will strengthen and clarify the existing Americans with Disabilities Act and prevent those with disabilities from falling into unforeseen legal loopholes. I am happy that S. 3406 corrects a series of 1999 Supreme Court decisions that excluded from the ADA protection individuals who take medication to treat conditions like epilepsy or those who wear hearing aids or use prosthetic limbs, among others. For too many years, individuals whom Congress intended to protect from disability discrimination have been denied protection because of the Supreme Court’s cramped interpretation of this landmark civil rights law and S. 3406 demands that the courts honor the original spirit of the law.
As a veteran, I am pleased that S. 3406 also ensures coverage for our brave men and women in uniform returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan with injuries. These veterans have faced serious risk and sacrificed much in service to country and can now return home knowing that they will be protected from discrimination.
I urge the President to swiftly sign S. 3406 into law.
[B]Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan[/B] [I]Garapan, Saipan[/I]
