The individual abilities. A former staff attorney with the commission of who was one of the primary authors of the report described his job as statistics, social scientific, the statusntary on of people with a disability in American Society. In conclusion of the report was society has tended to isolate and segregate people with disabilities and to despise so progress, discrimination continues to be a serious and pervasive social problem. As i expect to hear in a few minutes, the council followed with a report that related to the americans with disabilities act in 1990. Before we hear from our speakers, i want to take a point of personal privilege to note how grateful i am to those commissions, congress and president h w bush for the gift that is ava. My brother has sellable palsy and spent my brother has erebralle halsey c palsy. We lived with the discrimination that before 27 years had no records. [indiscernible] celebratee story to why we are as a nation so lucky. A handful of years ago, my brother was a teacher entered a contract to take an overseas teaching position. He repaired his life for an overseas move for a few years until the final skype a meeting days before he was to get on a plane for the new job, abiding witnessed that somebody witnessed my brothers disability and said the company does not take disabilities of any kind and he did not have a job. In the u. S. , we couldve moved quickly to educate about the law and the students would have benefited from my brother. Actamericans of disability and not abroad. My brother moved on and those kids learned from somebody else. I am lucky to live in a country with these laws. Thank you for all those present today who worked to make it a reality and work to make its promises real in the lives of americans. We are so grateful today to have with us 2 speakers who will bring their own history in the movement for disability rights. Our first speaker, john is a career federal government lawyer with more than 4 decades of experience across administrations beginning with the Nixon Administration and thereafter through 2011 when he left federal government. He served as of the department of justice chief technical experts during the writing of the ada. He was chief author of the department of justice in 1991, ada regulations and created the ays b o. J. s technical and in charge of the ada, overseeing the department of enforcement efforts. He was responsible for the first major revision of the apartments adaes including of the 2010 and the chief author of the First Federal regulation of title iv and 1973. Had the pleasure of enforcement for 3. 5 years and i thank you. As a member of the u. S. Delegation to the united nations, he assisted in that coverage in all rights of persons with disabilities and provided training and guidance and continues to work on the international level. Short in 2010, he was honored with the president ial distinguished rank award. He received a ba from trinity harvard. Nd mba from our second speaker, rebecca served as the executive director of the National Council on isability which our counsel an independent advisory on issues of National Disability policy. She joined the National Council in 2013 after serving for 4 years in various Government Agencies including the department of education and at the white house. Currently, she is consulting with civil rights organizations. Rebecca has a long history of advocacy including working at the institute for educational leadership, building resources designed to empower youth with a disability and other adult allies. She was inducted into the inaugural class of the disability coliseum and recipient of the frank harkens memorial award. Before hearing from our speakers, i want to [inaudible] thank you, madam chair. Good morning. I had the pleasure with my special assistant of working with our great staff to organize this discussion. I would like to add my welcome to a very distinguished speakers and thank them as well as the sharing their stories as we celebrate the 27th anniversary of the passage of the americans with disability act. As well as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the u. S. Commission on civil rights which is one of the reasons we started the series. I would like to thank mrs. Coakley for sharing her expertise with me and my special assistant over the past two years to make sure our commissions hearings included the voices of people with disabilities. When assigning the americans , president lities act George H W Bush said it would ensure people with disabilities are given the basic guarantees for which they have worked so long and so hard, independence, freedom of choice, control of their lives, the opportunity into the rich mosaic of the american mainstream. The National Council on disability which ms. Coakley helped to lead played a pivotal role in formulating what would become of the ada and continues to a sure americans with disabilities have powerful voice. Weof the chair mentioned, are very proud of our commission in the formation of the ada and our report accommodating the spectrum of individual abilities that helped to lay the groundwork. We have issued several reports examining and recommending for the continuing challenges that americans with disabilities face. Our staff is preparing an investigation for next year on the disproportional impact of School Discipline of all on students of color with a disabilities. The passage of the ada made up clear that the rights of people with disabilities is a human and civil rights issue. One of the leaders who made that point very clear. The ada has greatly improved the lives of millions of americans fostering public understanding with disabilities as allowing access to Public Services and demonstrated the immense positive impact that people with disabilities can amaze and our communities. It is the model for the convention on the rise of persons with disabilities that the u. S. Has yet to ratify. It is important to learn from history to celebrate the progress we have made and recommit ourselves in sharing every person is able to pursue their dreams and fulfill their their full potential. America is an amazing country because we are willing to acknowledge where we fall short and continue to strive to live up to our founding principles. That is why todays commemoration of the ada is important to all of us and i thank you. Thank you. We will start with you. Good morning and thank you for inviting me to join you in the celebration of the ada and i are honored to be with you all today. You have asked me to give a historical perspective. Since i lived through much of this, i will try to do that and 15 to 20 minutes instead of two or three hours. I will start, let me start my perspective in the 1980s. Developingus was that persons with a disabilities get not have the same federal civil rights protections that other people in the country had a, africanamericans, women had that people of color, ethnic minorities, persons language was other than english had protections that people with disabilities did not. Congress had enacted title five of the rehabilitation act of 1973 which included section 504. Beginning to be recognition it was only good as a start. The problems with that was covered with links of the receipt of federal funds so coverage may vary from year to year. A Fire Department would get a grant one year and would be covered and then no protection for nondiscrimination in the next year. Also, large parts of the american economy, especially the Business Community did not receive federal funding, so there was not a total coverage with section 504. And unfortunately, there had been really spotty enforcement of the law by both the federal government and groups included disability Rights Groups. The 1980s, even in the picture for people with disabilities was bleak. There were very few accessible buildings. We learned there were almost no accessible Public Restrooms in American Cities with little accessible housing. Every very few Employment Opportunities and we had a lot of people who were warehouse in segregated institutions. Factors and trends were starting to change the public dynamic. I would like to focus on a couple of them. One of them was their change brought about by returning veterans from the war of vietnam. Because of advances in medical , people,y in the field veterans with disabilities returning and did not make it through earlier wars. These were people who came back and became disabled fighting for their country and were not willing to accept secondclass status of people with disabilities in the country. In one of the hearings, testimony from a gentleman from vet island was a vietnam who was disabled. His Rehabilitation Program included swimming. Unfortunately, there were no accessible pool and no designs to make them accessible in his area. Another factor and a very important one was the impact our laws on education had had including in 1960, congress enacted the educational of the handicapped act and now it is called idea. It required a free appropriate Public Education in a mainstream environment for children with disabilities. The impact of that law in our society was profound. It brought about integration of children with disabilities with their nondisabled peers. It also created a generation of students educated the messiah had High School Diplomas and some had citizens of completions. They were ready to enter american suicide. Of students educated and some had High School Diplomas and diploma have certificates of completions. They were they were ready to enter American Society. And some saw how africanamericans had organized to achieve their life and they adopted the models of these movements whether it was whether it was organizing for social action and protest. Whether it was going to members of congress or the executive branch, or whether it was using the media as a way to get the message out. That they were there, and were facing discrimination. Another factor that i think is and our society had a series of laws that protected people with disabilities. There are based on the idea that people with disabilities needed our help. We had rehabilitation services, vocational, income support, there were that series of loss. Towere used to using laws solving problems of our society. The act of 1968 with 1968, we started to enact some laws that started with a different paradigm. People with disabilities were individuals with rights. We had to pass laws that enforced these rights. We did it because citizens have human and basic civil rights. About in 1968. Here were a series of laws the rehabilitation act included a affirmative action and federal employment and implemented a federal government. Establish the access aboard and created section 504. There was the air carrier access at that apply to air travel in 1986. Amended thet, we Fair Housing Act to include disability provisions and require that multi Family Housing built in the United States must be accessible to people with disabilities according to standards. In 1988 there was the civil rights restoration act that expanded the reach of Program Activity for the coverage of section 504. The Important Message was, people would go to congress and use a law as a way to address their grievances. Importantctor, and an one that was mentioned today, the work of the mission on civil what civil rights and the council on disability. I think the director of that time created the report towards independence, which included a tex of the comprehensive civil rights bill. Talkedd a report that about the history of discrimination against persons of disability. Wethe chair has mentioned, have the report of accommodating the from this commission. A really made clear the concept disabilities are a natural occurring problem of the human condition. We accommodate the full spectrum of people along that. These reports really provided vigor, the basis for what would become the idea. Another report came about in 1988 that was interesting. It was a response to the aids epidemic. There was a report that was done , admiral james was in part was in charge of it. Had 400 recommendations, 10 chief recommendations, and one of them was that there needed to be a lot to protect people that were hivpositive hivpositive. That needed to protect their life and privacy, but also to stop discrimination against them. The report said, the civil rights bill should not just single out people with hiv, issue be comprehensive and deal with all people with disabilities. Another thing in 1988, we had a president ial election. My message is, one should not underestimate the power of a promise made in a campaign. 1988, thenember in Vice President george h. W. Bush was running for president. He was attempting to establish his own credentials and to separate himself from being Vice President for president reagan. History of working with people with disabilities during the time of his vice presidency. At the beginning of the reagan administration, there was an attempt to look at the regulation and see that it was part in some and to review. And toas burdensome review. They asked him to chair that. There was an attempt to get rid of section 504, and to get rid of the disability laws in education. That brought Vice President president bush and his Legal Counsel into contact with the Disability Community. Of time iiod was involved with that, i was at justice in the process of issuing section 504 regulations. We became involved in a negotiation between Vice President bush, the Disability Department of justice, and a really created a working relationship that made the been Vice President bush comfortable enough when he was running for president to say, one of the things he wanted to do was issue a comprehensive civil rights law. When he became president , fulfilling that Campaign Promise became a big deal. Important trio trend or factor, which is the disability committee. They were incredibly well thenized in the period of 1980s. They were organized statebystate. Justin dark was a leader at that time, hugh and into every state in the country and worked with people with disabilities. He had them developed arteries of discrimination. Everyday people just wrote down what their life was like. What discrimination they faced. Was beingda considered, justin brought these diaries and presented them to the congress. What thehad a sense of nature of discrimination is on a at a veryl, and personal level for people with disabilities. It let Congress Know that discrimination was widespread. Organizationof the id like to give a shout out to pat right, lou was the leader of disability rights. She became known as the general because of a strong control and strategic planning. What was important about that movement is that it was a cross disability movement. Disability groups banded together for a common persis common purpose. The cohesiveness of this organization was essential to getting the ada. At one point during the ada process there was an amendment to strike people that were hiv positive from the bill. The disability groups banded together and said, no, you cannot take us apart. We will all stand together and this bill will cover people who are hivpositive or will not support the bill. It is an idea of how that works. Another example, i was involved with a meeting with a congressman in the morning with the Disability Community. I was representing the negotiations on the bill. Congressman express doubts about the bill. That afternoon he flooded the calls from his district, from disability groups saying, giving its giving information and saying, please dont have the point of view. That demonstrated the of theational muscle organization, as well as the need for the legislation in its own state. The last thing i will mention factors with economics. Congress was aware of two things. Support for people with disability, and the waste of Natural Resources of people with disabilities. A large part we are not being educated or a part of the economy. Is, why behind this spend billions of dollars to keep people unemployed . If you have got Social Security income support, you could not work. Many people who got income support wanted to work. This was a disconnect that the somethingn viewed as that would benefit not only the federal budget, because we will take people with disabilities who get income support and train on the budget and have them become taxpaying citizens. In the long run it would improve p and would help the federal budget. Not allow me to go through all the ins and outs of how the law. Pas, but i would passed but i would like to talk about three ideas behind the ada that made it work. Para um, comprehensiveness and integration. I apologize for all the latin words. Ae idea behind the ada was simple one. Give the people with disabilities same federal projections that other people had. That women had, that africanamerican people had. It made what seemed to be a revolutionary bill, really an evolutionary bill. We looked atg that was the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title vii covers implement. It covers covers employment. We could do the same thing with the ada. It requires you doc to be the agency that investigates in those lawsuits, we will do that for the ada. What do you do about the discrimination . What is the definition of someone with disability . Its a look to section 504. There were over 100 re