September 24, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 154 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S5667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 328--HONORING THE LIFE, LEGACY, AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF 
                              MARCA BRISTO

  Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Menendez) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 328

       Whereas Marca Bristo was born on June 23, 1953, in Albany, 
     New York, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from 
     Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin, and a bachelor's degree 
     in nursing from Rush University in Chicago, Illinois;
       Whereas Marca Bristo became paralyzed from the chest down 
     after a diving accident at age 23;
       Whereas Marca Bristo founded Access Living, one of the 
     leading disability rights and service organizations in the 
     United States, in 1980, and advised and mentored disability, 
     political, civic, and business leaders in Chicago, in the 
     State of Illinois, and across the United States for almost 
     four decades while growing the global influence of Access 
     Living as a model for disability-led advocacy and peer 
     support;
       Whereas Marca Bristo co-founded the National Council on 
     Independent Living in 1983;
       Whereas Marca Bristo played a critical role in the passage 
     of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-
     259; 102 Stat. 28), the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 
     (Public Law 100-430; 102 Stat. 1619), the Americans with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and the 
     ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-325; 122 Stat. 
     3553);
       Whereas Marca Bristo received the Distinguished Service 
     Award of the President of the United States in 1992;
       Whereas, in 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Marca 
     Bristo to serve as chairperson on the National Council on 
     Disability, making Bristo the first person with a disability 
     to serve in that role, which she held until 2002;
       Whereas Marca Bristo--
       (1) served as Vice President of North America for 
     Rehabilitation International;
       (2) participated in the negotiation sessions for the 
     Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which 
     the United Nations adopted in 2006; and
       (3) worked tirelessly in 2012 and 2014 for ratification of 
     the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; 
     and
       Whereas Marca Bristo dedicated her life to the principle 
     that all people with disabilities deserve social inclusion 
     and the right to determine their own life choices: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate honors the life, legacy, and 
     achievements of Marca Bristo, one of the leading advocates in 
     the United States for people with disabilities.

                          ____________________