H.R. 2273: To establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination of the basis of disability... xiii TESTIMONY Bruhns, Rudolph H., executive vice president and general manager, Greater 449 Busskohl, C.D., director, United Bus Owners of America... 308 Capozzi, David, vice president, National Easter Seal Society, Manager, Project 71 Cook, Tim, director, National Disability Action Center. 397 308 Daly, Ellen D., Legislative Analyst, President's Committee on Employment of 71 Dart, Justin, chairperson, Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of 49 Dipert, Dan, president, National Tour Association, Inc., and owner and president, Dan Dipert's Travel Service, Inc...... Donenfeld, Douglas, board member and chairman of the finance, audit and Gambaccini, Louis, general manager, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transporta- Gashel, James, director of governmental affairs, National Federation of the 308 223 160 223 287 Golden, Marilyn, Policy Analyst, Disability Rights Education and Defense 397 Henry, Frank M., chairman of the board, American Bus Association and president, Martz Trailways 308 Herman, George, general superintendent of maintenance, RTD Denver. 397 25 182 71 124 Kanjorski, Hon. Paul E., a Representative in Congress from Pennsylvania....... LaGasse, Alfred B., II, executive vice president, International Taxicab Association. 307 449 Markward, Ralph, executive director, ZIA Chapter PVA.. 397 71 182 Miller, Oral O., national representative, American Council of the Blind 277 Mross, Roland, Deputy Administrator, Urban Mass Transportation Administration, Department of Transportation, accompanied by John Cline, Associate Administrator for Budget and Policy, Urban Mass Transportation Administration, DOT, and by Don Trilling, Deputy Director, Office of Transportation Regulatory Affairs, DOT. Mundy, Ray, executive director, Airport Ground Transportation Association.... Picknelly, Peter L., Sr., chairman of the board, Peter Pan Bus Lines.. Roffee, Larry, Executive Director of the Architectural and Transportation Sandaas, Richard K., executive director, Municipality of Metropolitan Tripp, David, executive director, St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission... Wilson, Linda, immediate past president, Community Transportation Associa- Wingen, Kathleen T., director and founder, Advocacy Plus Action, Inc PREPARED STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Clement, Hon. Bob, a Representative in Congress from Tennessee.. sas.... Lightfoot, Hon. Jim, a Representative in Congress from Iowa. Bruhns, Rudolph H. PREPARED STATEMENTS OF WITNESSES Page 12 449 223 308 266 56 223 124 182 449 449 124 397 11 11 3 347 11 7 304 5 127 499 Werth, Robert M Wilson, Linda...... Wingen, Kathleen T. Winske, John SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Capozzi, David, vice president, National Easter Seal Society, Manager, Project Page 503 474 148 441 Letter from James A. Mather, mayor of the city of Oshkosh to the Hon. Prepared statement of Dan Dirks, community relations representative, Currey, Fred G., chairman and CEO, Greyhound Lines, Inc., H.R. 2273 Hammerschmidt, Hon. John Paul, a Representative in Congress from Arkansas, Letter from Robert L. Alexander, president, Twin Lakes Bus Lines, Inc Petri, Hon. Thomas E., a Representative in Congress from Wisconsin, letter from Hon. Paul Soglin, mayor of the city of Madison to Hon. Herb Kohl, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. Wingen, Kathleen T., director and founder, Advocacy Plus Action, Inc., letter from the St. Cloud Area Disabilities Council dated September 18, 1989 ADDITIONS TO THE RECORD 97 340 328 9 135 American Foundation for the Blind, Inc., Washington, DC, letter 511 516 Oftedahl, Laura, director for public affairs, Columbia Lighthouse for the 519 Paralyzed Veterans of America, Northwest Chapter, Seattle, WA., George B. 523 524 SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION HEARINGS ON AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT SEPTEMBER 20 AND 26, 1989 SUMMARY OF SUBJECT MATTER The hearings will provide testimony from the Department of Transportation, the disability community, public transit authorities, and the intercity bus industry on the transportation provisions within the proposed Americans with Disabilities Act (H.R. 2273 and S. 933) which would ensure accessibility for the disabled to public and private transportation services. (1) Existing Laws and Regulations Current DOT regulations (primarily interpretations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 317 of the Surface Transportation Act of 1982) require that transit systems provide the disabled with access to their systems. Transit systems can currently provide access through the use of lift-equipped buses along a fixed-route, paratransit services (generally, small vans which provide door-to-door service), or a combination of the two. Minimum service criteria are included in the regulations. Prior to a recent Third Circuit Appeals Court decision, the DOT regulations provided that a transit system which expended 3% of its average annual operating budget on serving the disabled would be considered in compliance with the regulations, regardless of the level of service which it actually provided. The Appeals Court held that there was no basis in current law for an exemption from minimum service criteria simply because a system meets an arbitrary 3 "cost-cap" standard. (2) H.R. 2273 and S. 933 H.R. 2273, which now has 219 cosponsors, was referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary; Education and Labor; Energy and Commerce; as well as Public Works and Transportation. Hearings have been held in the House; but, so far, no Committee has reported the bill. The companion bill, S. 933, was referred exclusively to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, which reported the bill unanimously on August 2, 1989. Prior to reporting the bill, the Committee, in consultation with the White House and representatives of the disability community, approved amendments to the bill which made it acceptable to the White House. At that time, President Bush endorsed the legislation and said that he was "committed to producing a bill which can be signed this year." |