HR 289 — A Resolution recognizing July 26, 2025, as "Americans with Disabilities Act Day" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   2185

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 289
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY D. MILLER, BENHAM, SALISBURY, MARKOSEK, MADDEN,
        VENKAT, ABNEY, SMITH-WADE-EL, GAYDOS, MAYES, HILL-EVANS,
        GIRAL, GUENST, NEILSON, HOHENSTEIN, SANCHEZ, DEASY, KAZEEM,
        SCHLOSSBERG, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, RIVERA, D. WILLIAMS, STEELE,
        O'MARA, GREEN, CIRESI AND BOROWSKI, JULY 24, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES, AUGUST 4, 2025


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Recognizing July 26, 2025, as "Americans with Disabilities Act
 2      Day" in Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, July 26, 2025, marks the 35th anniversary of the
 4   date of enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
 5   (ADA); and
 6      WHEREAS, The ADA has been one of the most significant and
 7   effective civil rights laws passed by the Congress of the United
 8   States; and
 9      WHEREAS, Prior to the date of enactment of the ADA,
10   individuals with disabilities were too often denied the
11   opportunity to fully participate in society due to intolerance,
12   misunderstanding, ignorance or unfair stereotypes; and
13      WHEREAS, The dedicated efforts of passionate and courageous
14   disability rights advocates served to awaken the Congress of the
15   United States and the people of the United States to the
16   discrimination and prejudice that individuals with disabilities
 1   face; and
 2         WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States worked in a
 3   bipartisan manner to craft legislation to make discrimination
 4   against individuals with disabilities illegal; and
 5         WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States passed the ADA,
 6   and President George Herbert Walker Bush signed the ADA into law
 7   on July 26, 1990; and
 8         WHEREAS, The purpose of the ADA is to fulfill the goals of
 9   opportunity, independent living, integration and economic self-
10   sufficiency for individuals with disabilities who live in the
11   United States; and
12         WHEREAS, The ADA:
13             (1)   prohibits employers from discriminating against
14         qualified individuals with disabilities;
15             (2)   requires that state and local governmental entities
16         accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities;
17             (3)   requires a place of public accommodation to take
18         reasonable steps to ensure that the goods and services it
19         provides are accessible to individuals with disabilities; and
20             (4)   requires new trains and buses to be accessible to
21         individuals with disabilities;
22   and
23         WHEREAS, The ADA has played a historic role in allowing more
24   than 55 million individuals in the United States who have
25   disabilities to better participate in society by removing
26   barriers to employment, transportation, public services,
27   telecommunications and public accommodations; and
28         WHEREAS, The ADA has served as a model for disability rights
29   in other countries; and
30         WHEREAS, Every individual in the United States, not just

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 1   those with disabilities, benefits from the accommodations that
 2   have become commonplace since the passage of the ADA, including
 3   curb cuts at street intersections, ramps for access to buildings
 4   and other accommodations that provide access to public
 5   transportation, stadiums, telecommunications, voting machines
 6   and websites; and
 7      WHEREAS, Thirty-five years after the date of enactment of the
 8   ADA, the ADA remains a crucial tool, as children and adults with
 9   disabilities still experience barriers that interfere with their
10   full participation in mainstream life in the United States; and
11      WHEREAS, Thirty-five years after the date of enactment of the
12   ADA, individuals in the United States who have disabilities are
13   twice as likely to live in poverty than individuals without
14   disabilities, and individuals with disabilities continue to
15   experience high rates of unemployment and underemployment; and
16      WHEREAS, Thirty-five years after the date of enactment of the
17   ADA and 26 years after the Supreme Court of the United States
18   issued the decision in Olmstead v. L.C., many individuals with
19   disabilities still live and work in segregated and institutional
20   settings because of a lack of access to support services that
21   would allow these individuals to live and work in their
22   community; and
23      WHEREAS, Thirty-five years after the date of enactment of the
24   ADA, the ADA remains a crucial tool for individuals with
25   disabilities who experience barriers to accessibility in
26   telecommunications and information technologies; and
27      WHEREAS, The United States has a responsibility to welcome
28   back and create opportunities for tens of thousands of working-
29   age veterans who have been wounded in action or have suffered
30   injuries or illnesses related to their service in the Global War

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 1   on Terror; therefore be it
 2      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize July
 3   26, 2025, as "Americans with Disabilities Act Day" in
 4   Pennsylvania; and be it further
 5      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives salute everyone
 6   whose efforts contributed to the enactment of the Americans with
 7   Disabilities Act of 1990; and be it further
 8      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives encourage
 9   everyone in the United States to celebrate the advancement of
10   freedom and the expansion of opportunity made possible by the
11   enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and be
12   it further
13      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives pledge to
14   continue to work on a bipartisan basis to support opportunity,
15   independent living, economic self-sufficiency and the full
16   participation of individuals in the United States who have
17   disabilities.




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