[Nfbf-l] President's Proclamation Text

[Sherri]

Thanks Matt.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt Roberts" <n9gmr at me.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List" <Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:31 AM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] President's Proclamation Text


> I'm including below the complete text of the president's proclamation of 
> the ADA.  I realize everyone might not be comfortable reading PDF files, 
> so I felt doing this was extremely important.
>
> Matt Roberts
> n9gmr at me.com
> blindbikernfb at cfl.rr.com
>
> --- Sent from my MacBook Pro ---
>
> THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary
> For Immediate Release July 25, 2011
> ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2011 ------- BY THE 
> PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION
> Generations of Americans with disabilities have improved our country in 
> countless ways. Refusing to accept the world as it was, they have torn 
> down the barriers that prohibited them from fully realizing the American 
> dream. Their tireless efforts led to the enactment of the Americans with 
> Disabilities Act (ADA), one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil 
> rights legislation in our Nation's history. On this day, we celebrate the 
> 21st anniversary of the ADA and the progress we have made, and we reaffirm 
> our commitment to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans.
> Each day, people living with disabilities make immeasurable contributions 
> to the diversity and vitality of our communities. Nearly one in five 
> Americans lives with a disability. They are our family members and 
> friends, neighbors and colleagues, and business and civic leaders. Since 
> the passing of the ADA, persons with disabilities are leading fuller lives 
> in neighborhoods that are more accessible and have greater access to new 
> technologies. In our classrooms, young people with disabilities now enjoy 
> the same educational opportunities as their peers and are gaining the 
> tools necessary to reach their greatest potential.
> Despite these advancements, there is more work to be done, and my 
> Administration remains committed to ending all forms of discrimination and 
> upholding the rights of Americans with disabilities. The Department of 
> Justice continues to strengthen enforcement of the ADA by ensuring that 
> persons with disabilities have access to community-based services that 
> allow them to lead independent lives in the communities of their choosing. 
> Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, insurers will no longer be 
> able to engage in the discriminatory practice of denying coverage based on 
> pre-existing conditions, and Americans with disabilities will have greater 
> control over their health care choices. And last year, I signed an 
> Executive Order establishing the Federal Government as a model employer 
> for individuals with disabilities, placing a special focus on recruitment 
> and retention of public servants with disabilities across Federal 
> agencies.
> Through the ADA, America was the first country in the world to 
> comprehensively declare equality for citizens with disabilities. To 
> continue promoting these principles, we have joined in signing the 
> Convention on the Rights of Persons with
> Disabilities. At its core, this Convention promotes equality. It seeks to 
> ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights and 
> opportunities as all people, and are able to lead their lives as do other 
> individuals.
> Eventual ratification of this Convention would represent another important 
> step in our forty-plus years of protecting disability rights. It would 
> offer us a platform to encourage other countries to join and implement the 
> Convention. Broad implementation would mean greater protections and 
> benefits abroad for millions of Americans with disabilities, including our 
> veterans, who travel, conduct business, study, reside, or retire overseas. 
> In encouraging other countries to join and implement the Convention, we 
> also could help level the playing field to the benefit of American 
> companies, who already meet high standards under United States domestic 
> law. Improved disabilities standards abroad would also afford American 
> businesses increased opportunities to export innovative products and 
> technologies, stimulating job creation at home.
> Equal access, equal opportunity, and the freedom to make of our lives what 
> we will are principles upon which our Nation was founded, and they 
> continue to guide our efforts to perfect our Union. Together, we can 
> ensure our country is not deprived of the full talents and contributions 
> of the approximately 54 million Americans living with disabilities, and we 
> will move forward with the work of providing pathways to opportunity to 
> all of our people.
> NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of 
> America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
> the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, July 26, 2011, 
> the Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I encourage 
> Americans across our Nation to celebrate the 21st anniversary of this 
> civil rights law and the many contributions of individuals with 
> disabilities.
> IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of 
> July, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence 
> of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.
> BARACK OBAMA
>
>
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