E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 109 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 151 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, JULY 25, 2005 No. 102 Senate The Senate met at 1:01 p.m. and was appoint the Honorable LAMAR ALEXANDER, a DEWINE, JEFFORDS, MIKULSKI, LAUTEN- called to order by the Honorable Senator from the State of Tennessee, to per- BERG, DOLE, DURBIN, LEVIN, LIEBERMAN, LAMAR ALEXANDER, a Senator from the form the duties of the Chair. BOXER, REED, CHAFEE, SMITH, COLLINS, TED STEVENS, State of Tennessee. STABENOW, OBAMA, AKAKA, SALAZAR, President pro tempore. DAYTON, BINGAMAN, WYDEN, BIDEN, PRAYER Mr. ALEXANDER thereupon assumed ISAKSON, FEINGOLD, JOHNSON, NELSON the Chair as Acting President pro tem- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- of Florida, BROWNBACK, BURR, SNOWE, pore. fered the following prayer: and PRYOR be added as cosponsors of Let us pray. f the resolution. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Eternal God, who hears and answers RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME prayers, teach us to pray. We confess pore. Without objection, it is so or- that we don’t know how to pray as we The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- dered. ought. Our desires are deep and our pore. Under the previous order, the Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, tomor- language too shallow. Lord, look be- leadership time is reserved. row, July 26, marks the 15th anniver- yond our words and see our hearts and In my capacity as a Senator from sary of the signing of the Americans souls. Hear our thoughts as we wait pa- Tennessee, I suggest the absence of a with Disabilities Act. Observances and tiently for Your providence. quorum. celebrations are being held and will be Inspire our lawmakers today with The clerk will call the roll. held all across the country. In fact, I Your presence. As they labor for lib- The legislative clerk proceeded to attended three in Iowa over the week- erty, help them to find their highest call the roll. end. There will be a big celebration to- joy in Your purpose and will. Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask night at the Kennedy Center where I Bless the staff members who provide unanimous consent that the order for look forward to introducing former the wind for the wings of our legisla- the quorum call be rescinded. President George Bush, the signer of tors. Surround these often unsung he- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Americans with Disabilities Act, roes and heroines with Your peace. pore. Without objection, it is so or- who will give the keynote address. We pray in Your wonderful Name. dered. On this 15th anniversary, we cele- Amen. f brate one of the great landmark civil f rights laws of the 20th century, a long RECOGNIZING THE 15TH ANNIVER- overdue emancipation proclamation for PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE SARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH people with disabilities. We also cele- The Honorable LAMAR ALEXANDER led DISABILITIES ACT brate the men and women from all the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- across America whose daily acts of her- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the pore. Under the previous order, the oism and protest and persistence and United States of America, and to the Repub- Senate will proceed to the consider- courage moved this law forward to pas- lic for which it stands, one Nation under ation of S. Res. 207, the Americans sage 15 years ago. God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for with Disabilities Act resolution, which In 1964, this country passed a civil all. the clerk will report. rights bill. After much struggle, after f The legislative clerk read as follows: the freedom riders and the marches in APPOINTMENT OF ACTING A resolution (S. Res. 207) recognizing and places such as Selma, AL, that are PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE honoring the 15th anniversary of the enact- burned in our memories, we passed the ment of the Americans with Disabilities Act Civil Rights Act of 1964 which closed a The PRESIDING OFFICER. The of 1990. clerk will please read a communication long, disgraceful chapter of segregation The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to the Senate from the President pro and discrimination, lack of equality of pore. Under the previous order, there opportunity for Americans just based tempore (Mr. STEVENS). will be 30 minutes of debate equally di- The legislative clerk read the fol- on race, mostly, sex, creed, and na- vided between the majority leader and lowing letter: tional origin. the Senator from Iowa or their des- I can remember coming home on U.S. SENATE, ignees. leave from the military some time PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, June 25, 2005. The Senator from Iowa. after that. I was with my brother To the Senate: Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask Frank who had been totally deaf since Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, unanimous consent that Senators KEN- early childhood. I had seen how he had of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby NEDY, HATCH, REID, CLINTON, MCCAIN, been discriminated against all of his ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S8767 . VerDate Aug 04 2004 02:26 Jul 26, 2005 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25JY6.000 S25JYPT1 S8768 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2005 lifetime. I remember we were talking ADAP rolled their wheelchairs up to is a talking one with brail so that a about different things, and he men- the Capitol steps, and there were about blind person can use the ATM machine. tioned the civil rights bill. He thought between 50 and 75 people. I don’t know So we now see people with seeing-eye it was all well and good. But then he the exact number. They got out of dogs going into restaurants to have a asked the question: What about us? I their wheelchairs and crawled up the meal. Fifteen years ago, a restaurant didn’t really know what he was talking steps of the Capitol; they crawled up could say, Get that dog out of here, we about. the steps. That hit the evening news, don’t allow it. Now they have to allow I said: Are you talking about us, me? all the newspapers, and the news maga- it. He said: What about us deaf people? zines, and then we heard from the Now we see people with disabilities We are discriminated against every day American public that this should not working jobs, traveling, enjoying life, in terms of where we can work, can go, be allowed to happen, that people with going to movies. Yesterday, I went to a how we get news, how we go to school. disabilities ought to have accessibility; Cedar Rapids Colonels baseball game. I began to think about it as I finished they ought to be able to participate in It was disability day. They have a new my career in the military and through all aspects of our American life. And baseball stadium there; it is 4 years law school and coming here to Con- then we hammered out the bill and got old. It is one of the most accessible sta- gress. I thought, as I watched the it passed in the Senate and the House. diums I have ever seen in my life. All struggle of people with disabilities to As I said, on July 26, 1990, in a won- kinds of people with disabilities can proclaim their involvement, that they derful ceremony, the biggest gathering come there and enjoy baseball games. should also be covered by the Civil for the signing of a bill in our Nation’s That would not have been true before. Rights Act. So there were some minor history, people gathered on the lawn of The old diamond had one place set steps taken. We had section 504 of the the White House for the signing of the aside down on the first base line with Rehab Act in 1973 before I got here. Americans with Disabilities Act by people walking in front of them all the Then after coming to the House in 1974, President George Bush. It was a great time. Now they are up high, and they we had the Education of Handicapped and joyous occasion. have great seats in this stadium. So we Children Act, 94–142, which my good For all these years, after 1964, we see this all around us. friend, now Senator JEFFORDS, then thought we had torn down the walls of For those of us who are able-bodied, Congressman JEFFORDS, was very much segregation. But there was a group of we kind of take it for granted. It is not involved in getting passed in the House Americans for whom segregation was a a big deal out there that you have curb at that time. It later became known as daily occurrence, even after the Civil cuts or access to buildings. I walked IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Rights Act, for whom daily discrimina- into a hotel downtown a week or so ago, where the National Commission Education Act. That is how it is known tion was a fact of life, for whom equal on Independent Living, NCIL, was hav- today. opportunity was just some words on Then there began a long struggle by paper. There was a group of Americans ing their national meeting. Four or five people with disabilities coming people with disabilities to gain their for whom access to the American into the Hyatt pushed a button at the full participation in our society.