NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY JULY 26, 1997 In commemoration ofthe JULY 26, 2010 20th anniversary ofthe ADA EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY The Making of the Americans with Disabilities Act Copyright © 1997, 2010 by the National Council on Disability ALL RIGHTS RESERVED REISSUED 2010 Publication date: July 26, 1997 National Council on Disability 1331 F Street, N.W. Suite 1050 Washington, D.C. 20004-1107 (202) 272-2004 Voice (202) 272-2074 TTY (202) 272-2022 Fax This work was prepared under contract with the National Rehabilitation Hospital Research Center, Medlantic Research Institute, and was written by Jonathan M. Young. The views contained in this report do not necessarily represent those of the Administration, as this document has not been subjected to the A-19 Executive Branch review process. DEDICATION For people with disabilities throughout the nation whose pursuit of liberty and justice made the ADA a reality. For those who have since passed away. For those who join the cause of disability rights. NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT Linda W. Allison Glenn Anderson, Ph.D., Second Vice Chairperson Yerker Andersson, Ph.D. Milton Aponte, J.D. Gary Blumenthal Ellis B. Bodron H. Latham Breunig, Ph.D. Marca Bristo, Chairperson Dave N. Brown Larry Brown, Jr. Robert V. Bush Victoria Ray Carlson Chad Colley, Vice Chairperson Mary Ann Mobley Collins Edward Correia Justin Dart, Jr., Vice Chairperson Robert R. Davila, Ph.D. Joe S. Dusenbury, Chairperson John S. Erthein Chester A. Finn Anthony H. Flack Lex Frieden, Chairperson John A. Gannon, Acting Chairperson Theresa L. Gardner Sara Gelser Barbara Gillcrist R. Budd Gould Margaret C. Hager Hunt Hamill, Vice Chairperson Graham Hill Marylyn Howe Joel I. Kahn, Ph.D. Young Woo Kang, Ph.D. John D. Kemp Marian N. Koonce Carmine Lavieri NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT (CONTINUED) Leslie Lenkowsky, Ph.D. John Leopold Nanette Fabray MacDougall Michael Marge, Ed.D. Kathleen Martinez Lisa Mattheiss Heather McCallum Katherine O. McCary Audrey McCrimon Gina McDonald Lonnie Moore Robert S. Muller Carol Novak George H. Oberle, P.E.D. Bonnie O’Day, Ph.D. Dongwoo Joseph “Joe” Pak Patricia Pound, Vice Chairperson Brenda Premo Anne M. Rader Mary M. Raether Lilliam Rangel-Diaz Carol Reynolds Debra L. Robinson Marco Rodriguez Shirley W. Ryan Gerald S. Segal Ann C. Seggerman Harry J. Sutcliffe, D.D. Joni Eareckson Tada Fernando Torres-Gil, Ph.D., Vice Chair Michael B. Unhjem Rae Unzicker John R. Vaughn, Chairperson Roxanne S. Vierra Henry Viscardi, Jr. NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT (CONTINUED) Cynthia Wainscott Kent Waldrep, Jr., Vice Chairperson Hughey Walker, Vice Chairperson Helen W. Walsh David Wenzel Linda Wetters, Vice Chair Tony Williams Kate P. Wolters, Vice Chairperson Ela Yazzie-King Jonathan M. Young, Ph.D., J.D., Chairman Phyllis Zlotnick NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY STAFF PAST AND PRESENT Andrew I. Batavia, Executive Director Frederick D. Bedell, Acting Executive Director Betty Jo Berland, Research Specialist (on detail) Kathleen A. Blank, Program Specialist Brenda Bratton, Executive Assistant Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant Robert Burgdorf, Jr., Research Specialist Edward P. Burke, Acting Executive Director Christopher Button, Special Assistant (on detail) Julie Carroll, Senior Attorney Advisor Michael C. Collins, Executive Director Frances D. Curtis, Administrative Officer Speed Davis, Acting Executive Director John A. Doyle, Acting Executive Director Joan M. Durocher, Executive Director Andrea H. Farbman, Public Affairs Specialist Lex Frieden, Executive Director Marilynne Gisin, Executive Assistant Martin Gould, Ed.D., Director of Research and Technology Sharon M. Lisa Grubb, Coordinator of Administration Geraldine Drake Hawkins, Ph.D., Senior Program Analyst Paul G. Hearne, Executive Director Harvey S. Hirschi, Executive Director Allan W. Holland, Accountant Andrew J. Imparato, General Counsel and Director of Policy Kathleen Roy Johnson, Children’s Specialist Naomi Karp, Children’s Services Specialist (on detail) Lois T. Keck, Ph.D., Research Specialist Billie Jean Keith, Program Specialist Fred Krause, Special Assistant to the Chairperson (on detail) Pat Laird, Staff Assistant Ramona Lessen, Executive Assistant Janice Mack, Administrative Officer Jamal Mazrui, Program Specialist Carla Nelson, Administrative Specialist NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY STAFF PAST AND PRESENT (CONTINUED) Pamela O’Leary, Interpreter Mark S. Quigley, Director of Communications Jeffrey T. Rosen, General Counsel and Director of Policy Katherine Seelman, Ph.D., Research Specialist Moira Shea, Senior Legislative and Economic Advisor (on detail) Anne C. Sommers, Legislative Affairs Specialist Harold W. Snider, Deputy Director Norman Subotnik, Special Assistant (on detail) Deborah Shuck, Staff Assistant Joyce Turner, Secretary B. E. Villanueva, Administrative Officer Lorraine Williams, Student Assistant ACKNOWLEDGMENTS he National Council on Disability (NCD) is indebted to the National TRehabilitation Hospital (NRH) Research Center for this historical account. Jonathan M. Young, a Ph.D. candidate in American history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Project Director for the NRH Research Center, conducted in-depth research, interviewed many key participants in the ADA’s passage, and authored the manuscript. Gerben DeJong, Ph.D., Director of the NRH Research Center, provided overall guidance and advice in addition to reviewing the document. With the support of Dr. DeJong and Karen Behe, Ruth Brannon initiated this project for the NRH Research Center, conducted oral interviews, and collected many documents, which culminated in the development of an annotated outline in 1995. Between 1990 and 1992, prior contractors, including Alexander Vachon, began work on a history of the ADA, conducted selected interviews, and collected materials for NCD, portions of which were made available for this project. The Civil Rights Committee of the National Council on Disability coordinated the development of this project: John Kemp, Chairman; Hughey Walker, Vice-chairman; Lilliam Rangel Pollo; Rae Unzicker; Marca Bristo, ex officio; and Kate Pew Wolters, ex officio. NCD Chairperson Marca Bristo reviewed multiple iterations of the manuscript and contributed significantly to its development. Billie Jean Keith was the NCD staff person to the Civil Rights Committee and followed the manuscript from beginning to end. Mark Quigley, NCD Public Affairs Specialist, coordinated publication of the manuscript. Staff at the NRH Research Center assisted in the general development of the project. Special recognition goes to Rachel Halpern and Ben Wheatley, who helped edit the manuscript, as well as to Phillip Beatty, Olga Elizabeth Hayes, Barbara Maloney-Darbeau, Lee Ann McNnerey, Georgette LaFayette Smith, and Sabrina Smith. Kathy Butler and Antonio de Guzman, at the NRH Research Center Library, were invaluable resources for research. In addition, George Koch provided important access to the law library of his firm, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. Staff at the House and Senate Libraries and Parliamentarian’s offices were indispensable sources of information. Frank Young, Leanne Young, and Bob Atwood provided essential editorial assistance. Personal interviews were transcribed by Ann Rand of Medical Dictation Services, Inc. Mary Flannery designed the cover. Numerous individuals provided invaluable feedback on the complete manuscript or parts of it: Yerker Andersson, Ruth Brannon, Maria Cuprill, Lex Frieden, Paul Hearne, Mark Johnson, Evan Kemp, Chris Lord, Marla Miller, Phyllis Rubenfeld, Liz Savage, Melissa Schulman, Robert Silverstein, Roger Slagle, Roland Sykes, and Pat Wright. The manuscript is stronger and more accurate because of their comments. Special thanks go to the 54 individuals who gave their time and insight in personal and correspondence interviews as sources for this historical account: they are listed in Appendix A. Many of these interviewees also provided access to their personal papers and made themselves available for follow-up fact-checking. Without them this history would have been impossible. CONTENTS Foreword, July 26, 2010 .............................................................................................. xi Foreword, July 26, 1997 ............................................................................................. xv Executive Summary ................................................................................................... xix 1 Laying the Foundation: Disability Policy & Activism, 1968–1988 ....................... 5 2 Putting the ADA on the Legislative Agenda: The National Council on Disability .............................................................................................................. 39 3 Publicizing the ADA: Advocacy and the Government Response ....................... 57 4 Creating a Workable ADA: The Senate and the White House ............................. 77 5 Fashioning a Durable ADA: The House of Representatives ............................. 101 6 Enshrining the ADA: House-Senate Conference and the Signing ..................... 135 Epilogue .................................................................................................................... 149 Glossary of Acronyms .............................................................................................. 157 Appendix A: List of Interviews ...............................................................................