demonstration and obtain some media coverage since I was new in town and wanted to make a name for myself.

Sometimes bureaucrats and policy makers do the bare minimum in terms of implementing existing legislation. One of the most poignant examples of this occurred at the University of Virginia this summer. This university was founded by a man named Thomas Jefferson, whose principles stood for equality and freedom for all. It is ironic that UVA's buildings are still not accessible, even though the laws requiring accessibility have been in existence for approximately 15 years.

Franz Stielfried was an advocate, a person in a wheelchair who advocated for accessibility in all areas of Charlottesville. Those of us in Virginia watched Franz grow in terms of knowledge, independence and his own personal independence. One day while he was traveling to UVA to advocate with them to make one of their main buildings accessible, he encountered an intersection without a curve cut. This forced him to traverse a very dangerous grassy area next to a 50-foot drop. He did this safely only to encounter another intersection which was inaccessible. As he was trying to lower himself over the curb, he lost control of his wheelchair and fell to his death 50 feet below. The time for passage of the ADA is now. It is a matter of life and death for many of us. For many of us like Franz it is a matter of survival. Thank you.

Mr. OWENS. Thank you. Mr. Nelson.

STATEMENT OF JOHN NELSON, WASHINGTON, DC

Mr. NELSON. Thank you very much, Chairman Owens, for being here and allowing me to speak. I am speaking as a person who has faced almost daily discrimination because of my disability for approximately 22 years. I think it is impossible for anyone in this room to recount every type of discrimination that they have faced individually. One of the most blatant pieces that I have faced was in 1975, a recent graduate of the University of Vermont, a university that was relatively barrier free because of a fully tenured professor who was a paraplegic who told them how up front they could make themselves accessible and prevent having to correct the situation later at a relatively low cost through preplanning.

After receiving a degree in education, I went through seven interviews the following summer. Three were 3 hours long. Very substantial interviews. I was told by the Essex Junction School System that they were not hiring me because I used a wheelchair. I suspected it in other situations, but in that one, they actually said this was the reason, which kind of surprised me.

I went to the Office of Civil Rights and filed a complaint. Over a year of investigation and Mr. Boeing, the regional head, said that he would not support my complaint because he did not think that I had a valid case. That the regulations were not signed by Califano and, well, the employer probably did not realize that they could not discriminate, that they had received Federal funds. This was just, I thought, impossible. And, now-a-days, it should be impossible that similar situation would happen.

The legislation that you are looking at passing will expand that. Hopefully, in 10 years from now, how it is crazy that in transporta

tion, housing and many of the very important areas of people with disabilities, that people would discriminate. That is where we have to be in a couple of years.

When we looked at housing-my wife and I recently moved to Washington, DC, from Massachusetts. She spent 3 weeks trying to find accessible affordable housing in Washington, DC and northern Virginia. Much of northern Virginia, brand new housing, Crystal City and so forth, had accessible apartments once you got to them, but you had to go in through the garage, you could not go in through the front door. I will not live in a building I cannot go in through the front door. We were fortunate to find housing, but it was a real search. That should not be.

In the areas of transportation, I, personally, face discrimination in getting on trains, getting on planes. In fact, not allowed to get on some planes because I did not have an able bodied person traveling with me, even though I had attendants on either end of the flight. Buses, there are far, far the exception instead of the rule when you find accessible buses.

Metro transport, I find in Washington, is really very nice; but, unfortunately, Washington, San Francisco, are examples of exceptions. You can name quickly and not fill all of our fingers the cities in this country that have accessible metro transportation.

You talk about cost. The problem is that there are too few people with disabilities in the work force, not too many. I but think of coffee this morning when I think of cost benefit. The lid to the coffee cup at McDonald's down in the mall had braille on it so a blind individual could read whether it was decaffeinated or not decaffeinated. McDonald's had, with a little preplanning, put this as part of their mold in molding a coffee cup lid and at no additional cost.

Now, if you had gone ahead and brailled every coffee lid, you would have a fantastic cost. And that is the difference that you're looking at. Through preplanning, you can eliminate a barrier as opposed to trying to correct that barrier, at a tremendously low

cost.

I urge the current Congress to demonstrate the foresight, courage and commonsense demonstrated that by Congress previously that have passed the Civil Rights Act and the Rehab Act of 1973 and its amendments. Thank you very much.

Mr. OWENS. Thank you. I want to thank all three of you. Ms. O'Day, you mentioned you are the head of a task force and I did not catch the name of it.

Ms. O'DAY. It is the National Council on Independent Living, Civil Rights Subcommittee.

Mr. OWENS. Thank you. And Mr. Kennedy, we did note that I think you serve on the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.

Mr. KENNEDY. Yes. They have just recently changed their name to the President's Committee on Employment of Persons with Disabilities.

Mr. OWENS. Thank all of you.

Mr. KENNEDY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Ms. O'DAY. Thank you.

Mr. OWENS. Again, we are very appreciative of the tremendous outpouring we have here today, people as witnesses and members of the audience. I would like to say to the members of the audience that have been here for a while, there are people outside who would like to get in and I would like for you to consider goingchanging places with some of the people who would like to get ingoing downstairs to the lower lobby where this hearing is there on a video device with captions and they have refreshments downstairs in the lower lobby, also. So, if you do not mind exchanging with some people who have not been inside, we would appreciate it. I would like to also move quickly to our next panel. We continue to fall behind, so, I am going to ask that the time will be set at 4 minutes now, instead of 5, because we continue to fall behind schedule and we do not want anybody to leave here without having a chance to testify.

The next panel consists of-can you move as quietly as possible so we do not lose time?

Alan Telker, Ilona Durkin, and Eugenia Evans.

MS. TELKER. It is "Ellen.”

Mr. OWENS. I am sorry. Ellen Telker.

Just one moment, Ms. Telker.

Mr. OWENS. Are you all from Connecticut?

Ms. TELKER. That is correct.

Mr. OWENS. Ms. Telker.

STATEMENT OF ELLEN TELKER, ATTORNEY AT LAW, MILFORD,

CT

Ms. TELKER. Good morning. As a person unable to read print or drive, I am subjected to discrimination because of lack of transportation and inadequate media in print and in forms which I am able to use. The provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1988 would be important in remedying some of these problems.

State and local municipalities do not make many materials available to a person who is unable to read print. Often, I attend seminars and workshops and receive printed materials. If tapes are available, they come afterwards. They may never come or they may come so long after the event that they are no longer timely. Speakers at such events will often refer to the printed material by page numbers, but they do not read what they are talking about so that a person who is unable to read does not receive the full benefit of the event.

At such a public meeting, a reader cannot help because if soineone reads the material, the noise that they make by reading it aloud or even softly disrupts other individuals' ability to listen to what is going on. Although the newsletter of the Connecticut agency serving the blind is published in braille, I often receive letters from them which are in print. Even this hearing was not publicized in a manner which was accessible to those who do not read print. None of the magazines or newsletters that I get announced it and my radio reading service did not carry a spot.

I know of at least one courthouse in New Haven where the elevators do not have tactile markings and I am sure there are many others. Literature from such places as hospitals, hotels, in airlines,

describing the safety and other information necessary to use these places is not available in a medium which can be read by a person who does not read print. Also, this applies to forms for applying for many benefits. Therefore, a person who is not able to read may have to sign something without understanding what they are signing or even if it is read not really understanding it adequately because it is usually done so very quickly.

After I wrote up my testimony, I thought about voting. When I go into a voting booth, I have to rely on someone else to tell me which lever to pull. The other big problem that I face is transportation. A person who is unable to drive must rely on alternate means. Unless you live in a very, very large city, public transportation is minimal. In my city, the door-to-door service operates fewer hours than does the regular bus. Because we do not have as much as we need, even if you call in advance, you may not be able to get a ride when you want.

My local chapter of the Connecticut Council for the Blind is looking for a way to get a group of us from the New Haven area up to Hartford on a Saturday for our semi-annual convention next month. And, so far, we have not been able to find anything.

I urge that the Americans With Disabilities Act be passed because it will provide a means for beginning to redress some of these problems. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Ellen M. Telker follows:]

TESTIMONY OF ELLEN M. TELKER

As a person who is unable to read print or drive because of a visual impairment, I am subject to discrimination because of inadequate transportation and lack of materials which I am able to read. The provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1988 are important to me because they would help to remedy these problems.

State and municipal agencies do not make print materials available in media which is accessible to persons with visual impairments. I have attended workshops and seminars sponsored by state agencies specifically for persons with disabilities where I was given print material. If tapes are provided, they always are sent after the event. They may never come, or they may come so long after the event that they are no longer timely. Often at such seminars or workshops speakers will refer to specific sections of the printed material by page number. However, they do not read the material they are talking about so that a person unable to read print cannot receive the full benefit of their talk. At a public meeting a reader cannot help since the noise made by reading material aloud or even softly is disruptive for other participants. Although its newsletter is available in braille, even the agency serving the blind in Connecticut sends out letters in print.

Even this hearing was not publicized specifically for print handicapped individuals. None of the magazines or news-letters I get in braille or on tape announced it. Nor did my radio reading service carry a spot.

I know of at least one state courthouse (in New Haven) which does not have tactile markings on its elevator panel, and I am sure there are many others. My bank provides raised line checks and brailled statements, but I chose it precisely because it is the only bank in Connecticut that does this. Such things as literature given to patients entering hospitals, safety information distributed in airplanes and in large hotels and applications for various types of public assistance are almost never available in media which a nonprint reader can use. Therefore, a blind person may sign releases, consent forms or applications for assistance without understanding or adequately considering the ramifications of the act, possibly waiving important legal rights. When such things are read or explained it is usually done so quickly that it is not helpful. Nor are bus and train schedules accessible to print handicapped individuals.

Lack of transportation is the other problem faced by visually impaired persons. Since blind people are unable to drive, they must find other means of transportation. Unless one lives in a large city, public transportation is minimal. In my city

the door to door service runs fewer hours than do the regular buses. Because we need more than we have, it is not always possible to get a ride when it is needed even if I call well in advance. My chapter of the American Council of the Blind is looking for a van to get us from the New Haven area to Hartford for our semiannual convention next month on a Saturday, and so far we have not found one.

On behalf of people who do not read print, I urge that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1988 be passed. Particularly Sections 4 and 5 of the Act would provide a basis for seeking redress for some of the discrimination which presently

occurs.

Mr. OWENS. Thank you. Ms. Durkin.

STATEMENT OF ILONA DURKIN, ROCKY HILL, CT

MS. DURKIN. Thank you. My name is Ilona Durkin. I am representing the 4,500 people who sustain head injuries each year in Connecticut and countless other people with disabilities who need the protection ADA can provide.

Families within our organization are often told in the hospital to let their loved one die because he or she is going to be a vegetable following injury. This fatalistic attitude pervades how people are treated after they leave the hospital as well.

For example, children with traumatic brain injury are often treated as though they have a learning disability, mental retardation, behavioral, emotional problems, or a combination of all. And that is because that is convenient for the schools. It is what they are used to and, so, that is what they provide.

Ignorant professionals segregate these children in special education classes. They do not receive the education mandated by Public Law 94-142. Gutting of the Federal monitor's office has virtually neutralized enforcement of this law.

Vocational rehabilitation excludes adults with severe long-term disability. They are excluded from jobs because support services such as job coaches are unavailable. Slurred speech or staggering gait are often reasons why people are denied jobs.

Many, many adults with traumatic brain injury are in the wrong place. They are living with aged parents, languishing in nursing homes, being inappropriately medicated in psychiatric facilities, or jailed because of aberrant behavior. Or, they are homeless. And of an interesting aside, our homeless people are kicked out of the homeless shelters if they can even get in because of the inaccessibility of many of them. Proper supervised living situations do not exist for this population.

State agencies discriminate against people with traumatic brain injury because of their disability. Officials deny service because the individual cannot follow through, use good judgment, demonstrate initiative or be socially appropriate. These problems are common outcomes of head injury.

Traumatic brain injury is not recognized within the Social Security Act as a discrete disability. Therefore, many adults with traumatic brain injury do not get treatment. Only 1 in 20 people with TBI currently get the services they need. This population is not adequately funded and is not getting equal protection under the law.

People have rights. Our country is based on principles guaranteeing these rights. Let us make sure all our citizens can secure them. Let us support ADA. Thank you.