John R. Vaughn, Chairperson
September 2006

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ADA Restoration

1. On September 20, NCD chairperson John R. Vaughn wrote to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Committee on the Judiciary to express appreciation for holding the September 13, 2006, Oversight Hearing, “The Americans with Disabilities Act: Sixteen Years Later.” NCD is required by its authorizing statute to advise the Administration and Congress regarding laws and issues that affect people with disabilities. NCD also has the specific responsibility to gather information about the implementation, effectiveness, and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). To further this statutory mandate, NCD submits this letter, which includes both the attached Statement and Publications List, for inclusion in the hearing record.

The ADA is the most significant civil rights advancement for people with disabilities to date. The provisions of the ADA addressing architectural, transportation, and communication accessibility, for instance, have changed the face of American society in numerous concrete ways. The ADA has been the impetus for a revolution in the inclusion, integration, and empowerment of Americans with disabilities.

NCD played a key role in the ADA’s inception and has continually reviewed the implementation and impact of the law since its enactment in 1990. NCD will soon add two new entries to this list. The ADA Impact Project entailed conducting a review of existing information about the impact of the ADA, gathering input from ADA stakeholders, and assessing the current state of research and knowledge about the impact of the ADA in an attempt to determine the extent to which the overarching goals of the ADA have been met. The ADA Implementation Project created a national dialogue of representatives from ADA stakeholder groups to develop recommendations for improving ADA implementation. The project also reviewed implementation best practices, litigation issues, and public awareness strategies. NCD will present the findings and recommendations from these projects in two separate reports, which will be made available in early 2007.

In a variety of ways, the ADA has lived up to the high hopes that accompanied its passage. However, challenges remain, particularly with respect to judicial interpretations of the law, which have limited implementation by severely curtailing the number of Americans able to successfully utilize the law as Congress intended. Necessary changes include clarifying Congress’ intent regarding the definition of disability to restore the ADA to its original status as broad and inclusive civil rights legislation. Congress should also work to increase resources for technical assistance and to help maximize effective dissemination of existing information to the public as a whole, and small businesses in particular, to facilitate voluntary ADA compliance.

NCD’s official statement for the hearing record, which spells out NCD’s positions on several ADA-related issues, can be found at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/correspondence/2006/chabot_09-20-06.htm.

2. On September 29, House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would restore protections for disabled Americans under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). H.R. 6258 is titled the “Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration Act of 2006.”

The bill would restore the definition of disability to the original intent of Congress—correcting errors in the Supreme Court’s interpretation.

For additional research on this topic, please see NCD’s 2004 report Righting the ADA (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2004/righting_ada.htm).

UN Convention Update

On September 22, NCD chairperson John R. Vaughn released the following statement regarding the United Nations International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

NCD commends the UN delegates, nongovernmental representatives, and civil society for the hard work invested in drafting the historic agreement reached on a new treaty on the rights of people with disabilities around the world. This momentous occasion marks the end of a five-year long negotiation process that was unprecedented in its inclusion of nongovernmental organizations made up of people with disabilities.

NCD has played an active role in providing technical assistance throughout the convention negotiation process. At the outset of negotiations, NCD published two documents. The first was  titled Understanding the Role of an International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities and a Reference Tool: Understanding the Potential Content and Structure of an International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. The second document, an outreach tool, explained the process: An International Disability and Human Rights Convention: What you Need to Know about International Human Rights Law and Efforts to Gain Equality and Justice for People with Disabilities in the US and Abroad. Midway through the negotiation process, we published UN Disability Convention - Topics at a Glance: History of the Process to continue to inform the disability community about the work being done. NCD also produced updates on the current status of the treaty negotiations after each Ad Hoc Committee meeting.

At the 6th Ad Hoc Committee meeting, NCD held a side-event at which we released several topical papers on the US experience to provide technical assistance in the drafting of specific articles. The topical papers addressed health; transportation; independent living and living in the community; employment; education; political and public life; and information technology. All are available at: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/alltheseries.htm. At the August 2006 8th Ad Hoc Committee meeting, NCD held another side-event to begin discussions on the practical aspects of implementation of the convention. NCD plans to release a summary of these discussions soon, which will be available at www.ncd.gov.

The draft text of the convention now resides with the drafting committee, which is being chaired by Liechtenstein. It then will be passed to the UN General Assembly, with a possibility of the Third Committee (the Third Committee is the General Assembly’s arm on social and human rights treaties) reviewing it before the full General Assembly votes on its adoption late this year. If the treaty is adopted, it will then be open for signature and ratification. If 20 countries sign and ratify, the treaty will enter into force. At that point, other countries wishing to become party to the convention must “accede,” meaning that they must sign and ratify at the same time. If a country signs the treaty at the outset of its adoption by the General Assembly, the country is considered to be a signatory and is then allowed to take more time to decide whether it wants to ratify and become a “States Party.” If the country signs, but then decides not to ratify, it is still a signatory, or the country can “unsign” if they have no intention of ever ratifying.

NCD encourages the careful finalization and expeditious adoption by the General Assembly of the first convention of this magnitude in this century that will further the human rights of millions of people with disabilities around the world, along with their families and the communities in which they live and work.

Quarterly Meeting/News Conference/Panel Discussion/Stakeholder Dialogue

On October 30, from 9:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m., NCD will conduct its next quarterly meeting at the JW Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. This meeting is open to the public and free of charge.

On October 31, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., NCD will highlight the release of its latest report, Creating Livable Communities, with three events at AARP, Brickfield Conference Center, 600 E Street, NW, Washington, DC: a news conference, a panel discussion, and a stakeholder dialogue.

The report is the sequel to NCD’s 2004 report, Livable Communities for Adults with Disabilities (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2004/LivableCommunities.htm).

Communities in the United States are faced with increasingly difficult choices and decisions about how to grow, plan for change, and improve the quality of life for all citizens, including children, youth, and adults with disabilities. As mentioned in our previous report, NCD believes that for the promise of full integration into the community to become a reality, people with disabilities need safe and affordable housing; access to transportation; access to the political process; and the right to enjoy whatever services, programs, and activities are offered to all members of the community by both public and private entities.

Future Quarterly Meetings/Soliciting Input

The focus of NCD’s quarterly meetings for 2007 will be to solicit input from the disability community and collect grassroots information on best practices (evidence-based practices) on a number of disability-related issues. The schedule for 2007, subject to hotel availability, includes January in San Diego, California; July in Chicago, Illinois; April in Atlanta, Georgia; and October in Baltimore, Maryland.

NCD quarterly meetings are open to the public and free of charge.

If you have information you would like to share with NCD on best practices when we visit your geographic area, please send an e-mail with the words “Best Practices” in the subject line to ncd@ncd.gov. Please tell us about your best practice, where you are located, and whether you think it could be replicated in other parts of the country.