At Long Last, A Legislative Win!
In my 10 months at the RAC, I'd yet to see a really big victory on any of the legislation I've been focused on this year. It can be disheartening to toil day in and day out on bills that never see the light of day on the House and Senate floors, pushing for change that never comes. But yesterday was a welcome relief - a victory!
The House of Representatives passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 yesterday, a bill that restores workplace civil rights to individuals with disabilities and to those perceived to be disabled. I've been working on this bill all year - in February, I lobbied members of Congress on behalf of the Jewish Disability Network, a coalition of Jewish organizations dedicated to ensuring equal rights for individuals with disabilities; I've also created action alerts, helped write op-eds and poured my time and my passion into ensuring this bill's passage.
At yesterday's pre-vote press conference celebrating the bill, I stood on the terrace outside the Cannon House Office Building with dozens of disability rights advocates and members of the business community wearing bright blue "Support H.R. 3195" stickers. We listened eagerly to Congressmen Steny Hoyer, James Sensenbrenner, Buck McKeon, George Miller, Jim Langevin and Rob Andrews sing the ADA Amendments Act's praises and cheered wildly in anticipation of the 402-17 vote that would occur later that afternoon.
I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite songs, The Rocket Summer's "Do You Feel," which includes the lyrics, "Sometimes I convince myself that all is fine in the world. It's not mine - why should I have to try to fix things I didn't create or contrive?" Here in D.C., the process of enacting real legislative change is a brutally slow ordeal, and like the lyrics says, it can be easy to fall into the "this doesn't affect me" mindset, to become discouraged and to walk away from the fight. But yesterday's House passage of the ADA Amendments Act renewed my enthusiasm by joyfully reminding me that hard work is, in the end, almost always worth the effort.
As the old cliché says, of course, there's no rest for the weary: The ADA Amendments Act still has to pass in the Senate, and I'll continue my work to ensure that it does. And whether you're located in Washington, D.C., the Congressional heart of it all, or sitting in your living room a thousand miles away, you can help in this battle, too - encourage your Senators to bring the ADAAA to the Senate floor and to pass it before the hubbub of the November elections weighs down the chances of legislative progress. This is a fight we CAN win - we're halfway there and the odds are good.
At yesterday's pre-vote press conference celebrating the bill, I stood on the terrace outside the Cannon House Office Building with dozens of disability rights advocates and members of the business community wearing bright blue "Support H.R. 3195" stickers. We listened eagerly to Congressmen Steny Hoyer, James Sensenbrenner, Buck McKeon, George Miller, Jim Langevin and Rob Andrews sing the ADA Amendments Act's praises and cheered wildly in anticipation of the 402-17 vote that would occur later that afternoon.
I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite songs, The Rocket Summer's "Do You Feel," which includes the lyrics, "Sometimes I convince myself that all is fine in the world. It's not mine - why should I have to try to fix things I didn't create or contrive?" Here in D.C., the process of enacting real legislative change is a brutally slow ordeal, and like the lyrics says, it can be easy to fall into the "this doesn't affect me" mindset, to become discouraged and to walk away from the fight. But yesterday's House passage of the ADA Amendments Act renewed my enthusiasm by joyfully reminding me that hard work is, in the end, almost always worth the effort.
As the old cliché says, of course, there's no rest for the weary: The ADA Amendments Act still has to pass in the Senate, and I'll continue my work to ensure that it does. And whether you're located in Washington, D.C., the Congressional heart of it all, or sitting in your living room a thousand miles away, you can help in this battle, too - encourage your Senators to bring the ADAAA to the Senate floor and to pass it before the hubbub of the November elections weighs down the chances of legislative progress. This is a fight we CAN win - we're halfway there and the odds are good.
Comments
I have Bell's Palsy and enjoy your blog very much. First time I've commented, but have been reading here and there.
Great blog. I enjoy reading it every chance I get and value your opinions!
Posted by: Disabled Chat | July 24, 2008 10:49 AM