SENATE PASSES ADA AMENDMENTS ACT!

BREAKING NEWS

At approximately 3:00 PM, ET today, Senate bill S.3406, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, was brought to the Senate floor for a voice vote. Shortly before 5:00 PM, it passed by unanimous consent!

At approximately 5:30 PM, ET, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will hold a press event at the Senate Swamp (the grassy area across the drive from the east Senate steps) to mark the momentous event.

In June, the House approved the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 3195) by an impressive vote of 402:17. 

But before the bill can head to the White House, the Senate bill must first be sent back to the House. If the House accepts the Senate version of the bill, it could arrive on the President's desk with a veto-proof majority! Stay tuned.

Congratulations, advocates! Your persistent push got us here today!

From http://adarestoration.blogspot.com

Tags: , ,

Save This Date

On Tuesday August 28  Access Alaska is pleased to sponsor the Anchorage stop on The Road to Freedom Tour. The Road to Freedom, a project of ADA Watch and the National Coalition of Disability Rights, is a year long, cross county bus tour and multimedia exhibit, highlighting the history of the ADA. The exhibition vividly reveals the struggle for disability rights, past and present.

 

What’s Happening and Where?

 

All events are at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage.

 

4 PM – 10 PM Films and Photo Exhibit

The late disability rights pioneer Justin Dart had the highest praise for Olin and his work. Dart said, “Tom Olin is a great, dedicated patriot and photographer of our movement. His contributions will live long after the pyramids of the pharaohs have crumbled to dust.”

6 PM Press Conference

The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed with overwhelmingly bi-partisan support in Congress over 15 years ago – was created to ensure that people with disabilities could access the same services as those without disabilities. For the most part, the ADA has been a success, resulting in greater community integration of people with disabilities and further protections against unlawful discrimination.

 

With all of its successes, court decisions have resulted in stripping many of the protections Congress intended the ADA to provide. Barriers to equal access to places of business and public services remain more than 15 years after passage of the ADA. The Road to Freedom tour seeks to alert Americans to these problems and the need for Congress to pass ADA Restoration, effectively returning the protections that have been eroded over the years. Congressman Don Young has co-sponsored the ADA Restoration Act 2007 H.R. 31915.

7 PM – 8:30 PM Social

 

That's 4 PM to 10 PM - Tuesday August 28 at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage. Education, Art, History, Film, Good Friends and Fun, what more can you ask?

 

Please let us know if you have any special or disability-specific requirements so that we can make your evening as enjoyable as possible.


For more information contact:

Doug Toelle

Access Alaska

800-770-7940


Wall Busters - Fairbanks

Our Mission: To educate and advocate for the removal of barriers to independence for people with disabilities.

Second and forth Monday, 1:00 - 2:30 at Access Alaska - Fairbanks

Call Access Alaska to inquire about transportation.

Now on Facebook:

Wall Busters | Promote Your Page Too

convinceme.net

Ran accross this site and thought it might be an interesting place to practice your advocacy skills.

From the About Us menu:
Convinceme.net is the ultimate debating website. First off it's free to join. You can create any number challenges, and compete in any number of debates that other users create as challenges. Compete for votes, a winning record, and points. It's your chance to convince the world that you are right! If you get a certain number of points, and have a winning record, you can also have the chance of competing in our Debate Playoffs, with a chance to win a grand prize in the Super Bowl of debating!

If you don't want to compete, and are just interested in debating your opinion along with others, you can create open debates. These have no winners, losers, or points but the general public can still vote on the subject.

Advocate/Argue/Convince me here .

DisabilityNation

DisabilityNation is an audio magazine by and for people with disabilities.

Link www.disabilitynation.net

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)

As a membership organization, NCIL advances independent living and the rights of people with disabilities through consumer-driven advocacy. NCIL envisions a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

Link

www.ncil.org/