Senator HARKIN. I hate to keep you any longer, but may I just ask one last thing on this whole thing of remedies? You heard the Attorney General and I get into this thing about damages. We have had testimony that having the damages in there as pursuant to the Fair Housing Act, which we just spoke of, the Congress just passed that, the President signed it into law providing that. He said that may be different than here. There is one body of thought that says if you have the damages that that really promotes voluntary compliance; that if you have the damages there, it promotes people sitting down and working these things out. If you do not have them there, they will just keep stretching it out and stretching it out, and they will not come to any resolution of it. The Attorney General feels that by having the damages clause, as I understood what he said, that would promote litigation. There are others who say if you have it there it will decrease the possibility of litigation. Do you have any thoughts on that, Lowell? Senator WEICKER. Let me tell you-and, again, I repeat what I said at the outset of my statement-this is a long cry from William Bradford Reynolds, this man. He is a fine man, Dick Thornburgh, and I think you are going to work out your differences fine. But this business that it is going to promote litigation, do you honestly think that there is one person out there that wants to litigate? You got to be crazy. They have got plenty to do in their lives to make it without lawyers and courts and litigation. So the hell with the litigation. That is not what anybody wants, as a practical matter, and that is exactly the way I would view the statement saying, well, if it is in there it promotes litigation. Nobody wants to litigate; everybody just wants to get on with their life. Senator HARKIN. I am glad I asked you the question. [Applause.] Senator HARKIN. Thank you very much. [The prepared statement of Senator Weicker appears in the appendix.] Senator HARKIN. If I might engage the chairman in a little discussion? The Chairman. Before we go into adjournment, I want to just express my very great appreciation to the Senator from Iowa for conducting these series of hearings. I think they have given a full opportunity, an examination of the various issues which have been raised and commented on. I think a very strong record has been made in support of the bill. I know the Senator from Iowa, as well as myself, and the Senator from Utah are glad to work with the administration. We have appreciated their positive response today. There are items which they have raised which will have to be worked out. We welcome the opportunity to do so. I want to reiterate that we have every intention of having a markup after we return in July. We want to move this legislation. We will move the legislation through the committee and then try and move it on to the floor at the earliest possible time. So I think we have some period of time now during these next two weeks in particular to be able to work out these matters. It is our intention to move to an early markup. We have stated July 12th as the date. We will make every effort to conform with that date. We want to within that period of time certainly give the administration the opportunity to concretize their own recommendations. So we are moving along. We want to give the assurances that as far as I am concerned we are going to keep on moving along until we get the consideration on the floor of the United States Senate. We hope to do that at the earliest possible time. Again, I want to thank the Senator from Iowa for the way he has conducted these hearings and for the record that has been made. He has really done an outstanding job, and we look forward to working with him as we move this whole legislative package forward. Senator HARKIN. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. [Whereupon, at 11:39 a.m., the committee was adjourned, subject to the call of the Chair.] APPENDIX Statement of Senator Edward M. Kennedy May 9, 1989 I am pleased to join in sponsoring of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 43 million Americans with disabilities deserve the opportunity to be first class citizens in our society. The road to discrimination is paved with good intentions. For years, because of our concern for the less fortunate, we have tolerated a status of second class citizenship for our disabled fellow citizens. The Americans with Disabilities Act will end this American Apartheid. It will roll back the unthinking and unacceptable practices by which disabled Americans today are segregated, excluded, and fenced off from fair participation in our society by mindless biased attitudes and senseless physical barriers. The timing of this bill has special significance in the history of civil rights. This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That legislation helped bring about one of the greatest peaceful transformations in our history for millions of Americans who were victims of racial discrimination, and this legislation can do the same for millions of citizens who are disabled. The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to both the public sector and the private sector. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public accommodations, transportation and communications. Its goal is nothing less than to give every disabled American a fair share of the American dream. The removal of physical barriers and access to reasonable accommodations are among the most essential elements of this measure. The lunch counter sit-ins of the early 1960's led to the great public accommodations title of the 1964 Act. But if the students demonstrating at those lunch counters had been in wheelchairs, they could not have made it through the door of the establishment. If Rosa Parks had been disabled, she could not have boarded the bus at all. Accessible transportation is the lynchpin for integration of the disabled. It does little good to open the doors of institutions, to provide rehabilitation and early intervention programs, if the disabled can not even leave their homes and move freely in society. Disabled Americans deserve a better future in their communities than to be relegated to sitting in front of television sets in their homes. (223) Reliance on paratransit facilities often means no transit at all. Paratransit is called a "demand-response" system, but to many of the disabled it is a "beg-deny" system. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of disabled citizens in every city languish on paratransit waiting lists, hoping for rides which are denied, or which are provided under strict limitations -- only to see the doctor, or only until 3:00 p.m. on weekdays, or only 5 trips a month. The restrictions are endless. Under these conditions, no human being can work, raise a family, or function normally in society. - In every era, society is confronted with the challenge of dealing with those who are disabled. All too often, out of fear and misunderstanding, the reaction is to shun those who are afflicted. Half a century ago, our response to the polio epidemic was to close swimming pools and instruct children to avoid the water fountain at their school. Many Americans once felt compelled to whisper when mentioning cancer in their family fearing that it might be transmitted through casual contact. Even today, young adults suffering from an acute phase of multiple sclerosis are treated as drunk, and older Americans with unrecognized Alzheimer's Disease are rebuked for behavior beyond their control. Most recently, we have seen the impact of fear and misinformation in the treatment of people with AIDS. I have heard from individuals and families whose homes have been torched and whose lives have been threatened. In every case, science, public health and painful experience have shown that the appropriate reaction is not to fear or to isolate, but to reach out with assistance, understanding, and support. In no instance is this response more essential than in the epidemic of AIDS. Beyond the fundamental issues of fairness and justice for individuals, protections against discrimination for people with HIV disease are essential to protect the public health. We cannot expect to bring this devastating scourge under control unless we make it possible for individuals who believe that they may be infected to come forward for counseling and testing. If the price of seeking professional medical guidance is the potential loss of employment, public accommodations, and vital services we cannot possibly expect those at greatest risk to participate in prevention and treatment programs. The legislation that we are introducing today is - designed not only to protect individuals with disabilities but to protect the general public health and the integrity of our society. Some will argue that it costs too much to implement this bill. But I reply, it costs too much to go on without it. We are spending billions of dollars today in the federal budget on programs that make disabled citizens dependent, not independent. We need a new way of thinking. The short term cost of this legislation is far less than the long-term gain. Disabled does not mean unable. Vast resources can be saved by making disabled Americans productive Americans. They deserve to participate in the promise of America too. May the enactment of this legislation be the first of many steps in a new effort by Congress and the Administration to redeem that promise. |