September 26, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 156 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H7999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                              {time}  1215
                         HONORING MARCA BRISTO

  (Ms. SHALALA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of a friend, Marca Bristo, 
the brilliant advocate for people with disabilities. She passed away 
recently at the age of 66.
  In 1977, she became paralyzed from the chest down after a diving 
accident at the age of 23. As she adjusted to life in a wheelchair, she 
struggled to navigate in an often deeply inaccessible world.
  Before long, she founded what is now Access Living, a Chicago-based 
nonprofit organization focusing on service and advocacy for people with 
disabilities. She served as CEO until shortly before her death.
  Marca helped write the Americans with Disabilities Act, landmark 
legislation that extended the Civil Rights Act to people with 
disabilities. The bill was signed into law in 1990.
  Four years later, President Clinton appointed her to serve as Chair 
of the National Council on Disability, where she continued working to 
increase accessibility and to fight disability discrimination.
  Her work revolutionized disability rights. She melded an unparalleled 
sense of legislative strategy with deep compassion for people with 
disabilities.
  We will remember her with pride as we continue to work to expand 
disability rights.

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