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Senator Tom Harkin
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1) Why do you feel there were people and corporations that did not support the ADA?
"We had key support from business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. There were some voices in the business community, particularly the small business community, who were worried that they were going to be required to do things under the ADA that would make it more difficult for them to do business. These fears proved to be unfounded."
"One of my major priorities in my remaining years in the Senate is to work toward ensuring that people with disabilities have job opportunities – and not just any job, but one that is equal to their interests and talents, and pays accordingly. As part of that effort, my work will include access to the training and supports necessary for those individuals to be successful."
3) Do you feel that the ADA is a turning point in history? If so how?
"Absolutely—working on the passage of the ADA, I heard stories of individuals who had to crawl on their hands and knees to go up a flight of stairs, or to gain access to their local swimming pool. Stories of individuals who couldn’t ride on a bus because there wasn’t a lift and stories of individuals who couldn’t go to concerts or ballgames because there was no accessible seating. Stories of how individuals could not even cross the street in their wheelchairs because there were no curb cuts. Before the ADA, millions of Americans were denied access to their own communities – and to the American dream."
4) Recently, the US did not ratify the UN treaty (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), do you feel this is a setback for ADA rights in the US as well as internationally?
"I don’t feel this is a setback for the ADA, because the ADA is still the law of the land in the United States. I do believe that our failure to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities diminishes our country’s role as a global leader on disability rights, and I am committed to working hard to get the 67 votes we need in the Senate to support ratification. We came up five votes short in December, and I am hopeful that we can get those last five votes in the current Congress."
"We had key support from business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. There were some voices in the business community, particularly the small business community, who were worried that they were going to be required to do things under the ADA that would make it more difficult for them to do business. These fears proved to be unfounded."
"One of my major priorities in my remaining years in the Senate is to work toward ensuring that people with disabilities have job opportunities – and not just any job, but one that is equal to their interests and talents, and pays accordingly. As part of that effort, my work will include access to the training and supports necessary for those individuals to be successful."
3) Do you feel that the ADA is a turning point in history? If so how?
"Absolutely—working on the passage of the ADA, I heard stories of individuals who had to crawl on their hands and knees to go up a flight of stairs, or to gain access to their local swimming pool. Stories of individuals who couldn’t ride on a bus because there wasn’t a lift and stories of individuals who couldn’t go to concerts or ballgames because there was no accessible seating. Stories of how individuals could not even cross the street in their wheelchairs because there were no curb cuts. Before the ADA, millions of Americans were denied access to their own communities – and to the American dream."
4) Recently, the US did not ratify the UN treaty (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), do you feel this is a setback for ADA rights in the US as well as internationally?
"I don’t feel this is a setback for the ADA, because the ADA is still the law of the land in the United States. I do believe that our failure to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities diminishes our country’s role as a global leader on disability rights, and I am committed to working hard to get the 67 votes we need in the Senate to support ratification. We came up five votes short in December, and I am hopeful that we can get those last five votes in the current Congress."
