For Immediate Release
October 3, 2007
Contact: Damien LaVera - 202-863-8148
DNC Chairman Howard Dean Marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Calls For Passage of the ADA Restoration Act Washington, DC - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following statement marking National Disability Employment Awareness Month by urging Congress to pass the ADA Restoration Act of 2007:
"National Disability Employment Awareness Month is an important opportunity to recommit ourselves to ridding the American workplace of discrimination based on disabilities. Every American deserves an equal opportunity to make their contribution to our society and live the American Dream. Seventeen years ago, Democrats and Republicans came together around this principle to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the landmark civil rights accomplishments of our time. Sadly, in the years since, Republicans in Washington have put special interests and politics ahead of the American people by undermining the ADA and appointing judges who have systematically eroded its protections.
"This month, as we honor the contributions that Americans with disabilities make in the workplace, we have an opportunity and an obligation to restore the full promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Congress should pass the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, which would require the courts to focus on whether a person has faced discrimination on the basis of disability instead of requiring people who have been discriminated against to prove their level of disability. I applaud strong Democrats like Congressman Steny Hoyer and Senator Tom Harkin for leading the fight for equal protections under the law for every American, and call more Republicans to join them in supporting the ADA Restoration Act of 2007."
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