FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2012

Contact:
Janine Bertram (503) 622-6387
Rachel Siler (312) 479-0220
Marsha Katz (406) 544-9504
Amber Smock ambity@aol.com

DISABILITY ACTIVISTS CONFRONT HOTEL LOBBY ATTACK ON THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Washington, D.C.— Hundreds of disability rights activists with the national group ADAPT have poured into a Rayburn House Office Building hearing room to confront hotel industry lobbyists attacking the fundamental legal infrastructure of the Americans with Disabilities Act through a seemingly unlikely sector: swimming pools. A threat to the ADA poses a threat to the legal underpinnings of ADAPT’s fight to end the institutional bias in Medicaid and ensure community living supports for people with disabilities and seniors.

On March 16, Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) introduced H.R. 4200, To Amend the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. On March 26, Representative Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) introduced H.R. 4256, The Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (pool SAFE) Act . According to the National Council on Independent Living (www.ncil.org), These bills will set prejudicial precedent by weakening the ADA. They also circumvent the separation of powers by eliminating the Administrations right to execute these rules. These pool regulations are law meant to be implemented by the Department of Justice. Congress should not intervene with this process.

We cannot afford to see the hard work and advancement of disability rights threatened by a weakening of the ADA, said Bruce Darling of Rochester ADAPT. The ADA is the foundation of the Olmstead Supreme Court decision, which provides for the right of every institutionalized person to live in the community with supports.  Break the ADA and you may break Olmstead.  It is a domino effect. ADAPT works to create opportunities for all people with disabilities to live in their own homes in the community, as opposed to nursing facilities and institutions.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution has scheduled a hearing TODAY at 4:30 pm EST to discuss this legislation. The room is 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.

The witness list:

Hemant D. Patel, Chairman, Asian American Hotel Owners Association Christa Bucks Camacho, Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Social Security Administration Ann Cody, Director, Policy and Global Outreach, BlazeSports America Minh N. Vu, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP For further information about H.R. 4200 and H.R. 4256, contact Dara Baldwin, NCIL Policy Analyst, at 202-207-0334 ordara@ncil.org.
For more information, see www.adapt.org and http://www.twitter.com/nationaladapt
FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/