ACB Action Alert
The House of Representatives is expected next week to vote on legislation
that will curtail the ability for people with disabilities to seek legal
action when they encounter violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). ACB urges its members and allies to call their congressional
representative and tell the Member of Congress to vote "NO" on H.R. 620, the
ADA Education & Reform Act.
This legislation has received bipartisan support by Members of Congress who
have been lobbied heavily by shopping center, restaurant, and hotel
associations, with absolutely no input from consumer disability rights
organizations like ACB. The result is legislation that makes it more
difficult to resolve accessibility issues around physical access to public
places protected under the ADA. As businesses continue to put up more
barriers like inaccessible kiosks and fail to meet other ADA standards, it
is important for every individual with a disability to let his or her
elected official know that a few bad apples should not dismantle the ADA.
You can reach your Member of Congress by calling the U.S. Capitol
switchboard at: 202-224-3121. Below are some talking points being circulated
that can assist you in your outreach:
. HR 620 will take away the civil rights of people with disabilities
. It will make people with disabilities wait for up to 180 days for
services that other people have immediate access to
. The wait may be even longer than 180 days because a business that
is making "substantial progress" toward fixing a problem can take even
longer than 180 days
. HR 620 will eliminate the need for businesses to be accessible
until a complaint is received; there will be no need to make a business
accessible until someone complains; that will mean many groups building new
buildings, renovating buildings, opening new businesses will not make their
services accessible
. HR 620 shifts the burden of accessibility from those who offer
services to the person with a disability; no other group needs to prove
their right to access to publicly offered services
. We should not be gutting the rights of people with disabilities;
if there is a problem, we should be limiting the actions of a small number
of lawyers who are bad actors
. HR 620 will take away the civil rights of people with
disabilities; would we ever think about eliminating the rights of any other
group of Americans? This is disgraceful.
To learn more, visit the legislation's congressional webpage at:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/620
