[nfbmi-talk] Fw: [acb-l] [leadership] Presidential Proclamation on ADA Anniversary

[joe harcz Comcast]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "peter altschul" <paltschul at centurytel.net>
To: "Acb-l" <acb-l at acb.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 12:55 PM
Subject: [acb-l] [leadership] Presidential Proclamation on ADA Anniversary


> ---- Original Message ------
> From: "Eric Bridges" <ebridges at acb.org
> Subject: [leadership] Presidential Proclamation on ADA 
> Anniversary
> Date sent: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:18:28 -0400
> 
> The White House
> 
> Office of the Press Secretary
> 
> For Immediate Release
> 
> July 25, 2011
> 
> Presidential Proclamation--Anniversary of the Americans with 
> Disabilities
> Act
> 
> 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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