[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 361 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 361
Recognizing the importance of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on the
lives of individuals with disabilities and calling for further action
to advance access, opportunity, and equity for individuals with
disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 26 (legislative day, September 22), 2023
Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hassan, Mr.
Fetterman, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Warren, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Van Hollen, and
Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the importance of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 on the
lives of individuals with disabilities and calling for further action
to advance access, opportunity, and equity for individuals with
disabilities.
Whereas September 26, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
Whereas, with the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et
seq.), the discrimination faced by individuals with disabilities was
recognized as systemic, rather than as an experience of the individual;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) was modeled on
anti-discrimination laws on the basis of race and sex;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) recognized
individuals with disabilities as a class of people subject to
discrimination based on the identity individuals with disabilities
share;
Whereas Congress worked in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation to address
the civil rights of individuals with disabilities;
Whereas Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.),
which President Richard Nixon signed into law on September 26, 1973;
Whereas, in enacting the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.),
Congress, for the first time, addressed the civil rights of individuals
with disabilities;
Whereas the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) expanded
employment opportunities and further advanced independent living for
individuals with disabilities through improvements to vocational
rehabilitation services;
Whereas section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791)--
(1) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in
Federal employment and has resulted in the Federal Government benefitting
from the efforts of the nearly 10 percent of the Federal workforce who have
disabilities; and
(2) requires Federal agencies to establish an affirmative action
program for the hiring, placement, and advancement of individuals with
disabilities;
Whereas section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793) prohibits
Federal contractors from discriminating in employment against
individuals with disabilities and requires employers take affirmative
actions to recruit, hire, promote, and retain individuals with
disabilities;
Whereas title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796 et seq.)
established the Independent Living Services and Centers of Independent
Living programs to promote the independence, self-determination, equal
access, and leadership of individuals with disabilities;
Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability in all federally assisted
programs or activities and laid the foundation for the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
Whereas section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) has
impacted access to and equity in healthcare, education, community
living, employment opportunities, housing, transportation, electronic
information and technology, and all other facets of life for individuals
with disabilities;
Whereas, on April 28, 1977, nearly 4 years after the enactment of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), disability rights
activists secured implementation of the rights established under that
Act after leading sit-ins of Federal buildings across the United States;
Whereas section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), an
important addition made to the Act in 1986 and expanded in 1998,
improves the information and communications technology of Federal
agencies to be accessible to individuals with disabilities;
Whereas 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 701 et seq.), individuals with disabilities still experience
discrimination and barriers that interfere with their full participation
in economic and social life in the United States; and
Whereas 50 years after the enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 701 et seq.), the Act remains a critical law in advancing access,
opportunity, and equity for individuals with disabilities, especially in
historically underserved communities, and in meeting the goals of full
participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-
sufficiency for individuals with disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the importance of access, opportunity, and
equity for individuals with disabilities, made possible by the
enactment of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et
seq.);
(2) encourages individuals of the United States to
celebrate the advancements made possible by the enactment of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
(3) pledges to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to
address access and equity barriers that remain for individuals
with disabilities, particularly multimarginalized individuals,
including Black, indigenous, and other people of color,
immigrants, LBGTQ people, low-income individuals, and people
living in rural and underserved areas;
(4) pledges to continue to work with State and local
educational agencies to provide equal access to a free
appropriate public education for all students with
disabilities, including individuals with disabilities with
multimarginalized identities;
(5) pledges to continue to work with public health and
healthcare delivery systems to address healthcare disparities
and inadequate services for individuals with disabilities, from
preventive care to home and community-based services;
(6) calls on Federal agencies to improve equal employment
opportunities for workers with disabilities in the Federal
sector through recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention
initiatives; and
(7) calls on the Department of Justice and the General
Services Administration to improve their enforcement of, and
oversight and compliance with, section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d).
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