DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S GUIDANCE ON ACCESS TO POOLS AND SPAS UNDER THE ADA HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION APRIL 24, 2012 Serial No. 112–112 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://judiciary.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 73–962 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Aug 31 2005 09:59 Aug 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 H:\WORK\CONST\042412\73962.000 HJUD1 PsN: 73962 COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY LAMAR SMITH, Texas, Chairman F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan Wisconsin HOWARD L. BERMAN, California HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina JERROLD NADLER, New York ELTON GALLEGLY, California ROBERT C. ‘‘BOBBY’’ SCOTT, Virginia BOB GOODLATTE, Virginia MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California ZOE LOFGREN, California STEVE CHABOT, Ohio SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas DARRELL E. ISSA, California MAXINE WATERS, California MIKE PENCE, Indiana STEVE COHEN, Tennessee J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia HENRY C. ‘‘HANK’’ JOHNSON, JR., STEVE KING, Iowa Georgia TRENT FRANKS, Arizona PEDRO R. PIERLUISI, Puerto Rico LOUIE GOHMERT, Texas MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois JIM JORDAN, Ohio JUDY CHU, California TED POE, Texas TED DEUTCH, Florida JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah LINDA T. SA´ NCHEZ, California TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas JARED POLIS, Colorado TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania TREY GOWDY, South Carolina DENNIS ROSS, Florida SANDY ADAMS, Florida BEN QUAYLE, Arizona MARK AMODEI, Nevada RICHARD HERTLING, Staff Director and Chief Counsel PERRY APELBAUM, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION TRENT FRANKS, Arizona, Chairman MIKE PENCE, Indiana, Vice-Chairman STEVE CHABOT, Ohio JERROLD NADLER, New York J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois STEVE KING, Iowa JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan JIM JORDAN, Ohio ROBERT C. ‘‘BOBBY’’ SCOTT, Virginia PAUL B. TAYLOR, Chief Counsel DAVID LACHMANN, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate Aug 31 2005 09:59 Aug 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 0486 H:\WORK\CONST\042412\73962.000 HJUD1 PsN: 73962 C O N T E N T S APRIL 24, 2012 Page OPENING STATEMENTS The Honorable Trent Franks, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution ....................... 1 The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution ....... 3 The Honorable John Conyers, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, and Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution ..................................................... 5 WITNESSES Hemant D. Patel, Chairman, Asian American Hotel Owners Association Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 9 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 12 Christa Bucks Camacho, Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Social Security Administration Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 18 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 20 Ann Cody, Director, Policy and Global Outreach, Blazesports America Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 21 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 24 Minh N. Vu, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP Oral Testimony ..................................................................................................... 26 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 29 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING Prepared Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the State of Michigan, Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary, and Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution ................ 6 Material submitted by the Honorable Jerrold Nadler, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution .............................................................................................. 65 APPENDIX MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD Attachments to the Prepared Statement of Minh N. Vu, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP ............................................................................................................. 68 The bill, H.R. 4256, the ‘‘Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (Pool SAFE) Act ............................................................................................................. 175 Material submitted by the Honorable Trent Franks, a Representative in Congress from the State of Arizona, and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution .......................................................................................................... 179 Material submitted by the Honorable Jerrold Nadler, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution .............................................................................................. 197 (III) VerDate Aug 31 2005 09:59 Aug 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\WORK\CONST\042412\73962.000 HJUD1 PsN: 73962 VerDate Aug 31 2005 09:59 Aug 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\WORK\CONST\042412\73962.000 HJUD1 PsN: 73962 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE’S GUIDANCE ON ACCESS TO POOLS AND SPAS UNDER THE ADA TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 4:38 p.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Trent Franks (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Franks, Nadler, Scott, and Conyers. Staff Present: (Majority) Holt Lackey, Counsel; Jacki Pick, Coun- sel; (Minority) David Lachmann, Subcommittee Staff Director; and Heather Sawyer, Counsel. Mr. FRANKS. I just want to welcome all of you today. You know, I usually have just a written opening statement, and I am going to read that in a moment, but if I could just speak to you just for a moment from my heart here. I know that there are a lot of people here that are trying to do every good thing that you can. And I want you to know there is nobody in the world on your side more than I am. One of the people in my office, a man named Brian Van Hovel, has worked for me for 10 years in this Congressional office. He is paralyzed from the neck down. And he is absolutely one of the most effective, best workers we have. Last year he was the staff member of the year in our office. And I want you to know that I care very much about your cir- cumstances and the challenges that you have. And this isn’t about, this hearing today isn’t about some attempt to reduce access on anybody’s part. It is about making sure that the law is followed. And in the Administrative Procedures Act, that wasn’t done. And in a sense, that has two implications, I believe, for all of you—or for many of you. One, when the rule of law is ignored, it damages and hurts the rights of those who are either disabled or weaker than others, in the most profound way. Because otherwise, we would just have, you know, the survival of the fittest prevail if we don’t have the rule of law. And secondly, I believe that there are some implica- tions to some of the policy here that could actually reduce the ac- cess of the handicapped and disabled in this situation. (1) VerDate Aug 31 2005 09:59 Aug 02, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 H:\WORK\CONST\042412\73962.000 HJUD1 PsN: 73962 2 So I just want you to know that. And I hope that we can find the best policy here. And this isn’t about—we are not hearing a bill as it were, we are trying to hear the truth from everybody. And I want everybody to have a chance to be heard. And I want you to have a chance to be heard. And if we do that, if we are respectful to each other, we have a chance do what only America has been able to do. With that, I am going to read my opening statement, and just want you to know that is just something I wanted to say to you. I want to welcome you all to this hearing on the Department of Justice’s Guidance to Access to Pools and Spas Under the Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act. This hearing is about transparency, open debate, and fairness in the regulatory process. Without objec- tion, the Chair is authorized to declare a recess of the Committee at any time. Congress has given great power to Federal regulatory agencies, but we have done so within strict limits. A regulatory agency may not exceed the authority that Congress has given it, and it must abide by the Administrative Procedures Act, or the APA. Complying with Federal regulations is time consuming and very expensive. The least that Congress can do is to minimize the bur- den of regulation on American job creating and businesses