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Obama announces ADA updates
WASHINGTON, U.S. President Barack Obama Monday announced new rules for enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act on the law's 20th anniversary.
Addressing an audience at the White House, Obama called the ADA "an extraordinary event in the life of this nation" and thanked a long list of public figures who played a role in getting in passed -- including former President George H.W. Bush, who signed it law in 1990, Bush Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan.
The president said the Department of Justice was publishing two new rules Monday "prohibiting disability-based discrimination by more than 80,000 state and local government entities, and 7 million private businesses."
He said beginning in 2012 "all new buildings must be constructed in a way that's compliant with the new 2010 standards for the design of doors and windows and elevators and bathrooms."
Obama noted the rules were first proposed six years ago by former President George W. Bush and have been updated to cover recreational and municipal facilities.
As part of the event, Obama signed an executive order that will promote recruitment, training and retention of Americans with disabilities by the federal government. He said his administration has committed more funding for care and treatment of wounded military personnel.
Obama said the Affordable Health Care Act he signed into law this year has "broken down one discriminatory barrier that the ADA left in place" by eliminating the practice of denying healthcare coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.
Kareem Dale, the White House special assistant on disability policy, said he believes "people are very happy with the progress" made under the ADA, The Washington Post reported.
Dale, the first White House disability adviser ever, is legally blind and uses a cane when he walks.
"I'm a beneficiary of the Braille you see on hotel room doors and elevators," he said. "There's better accessible transportation, wheelchair-accessible buses and reasonable accommodations that employers had to provide."
Despite improvements since the act was signed, more can be done, particularly in technology, he said.
"When ADA was passed in 1990 the Web wasn't what it is now and technology wasn't what it is now," he said. "The ADA and the law have to pick up with technology."
Courts are divided on whether Web sites must comply with ADA requirements, he said, adding, "it's been an open question."
WASHINGTON, U.S. President Barack Obama Monday announced new rules for enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act on the law's 20th anniversary.
Addressing an audience at the White House, Obama called the ADA "an extraordinary event in the life of this nation" and thanked a long list of public figures who played a role in getting in passed -- including former President George H.W. Bush, who signed it law in 1990, Bush Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan.
The president said the Department of Justice was publishing two new rules Monday "prohibiting disability-based discrimination by more than 80,000 state and local government entities, and 7 million private businesses."
He said beginning in 2012 "all new buildings must be constructed in a way that's compliant with the new 2010 standards for the design of doors and windows and elevators and bathrooms."
Obama noted the rules were first proposed six years ago by former President George W. Bush and have been updated to cover recreational and municipal facilities.
As part of the event, Obama signed an executive order that will promote recruitment, training and retention of Americans with disabilities by the federal government. He said his administration has committed more funding for care and treatment of wounded military personnel.
Obama said the Affordable Health Care Act he signed into law this year has "broken down one discriminatory barrier that the ADA left in place" by eliminating the practice of denying healthcare coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions.
Kareem Dale, the White House special assistant on disability policy, said he believes "people are very happy with the progress" made under the ADA, The Washington Post reported.
Dale, the first White House disability adviser ever, is legally blind and uses a cane when he walks.
"I'm a beneficiary of the Braille you see on hotel room doors and elevators," he said. "There's better accessible transportation, wheelchair-accessible buses and reasonable accommodations that employers had to provide."
Despite improvements since the act was signed, more can be done, particularly in technology, he said.
"When ADA was passed in 1990 the Web wasn't what it is now and technology wasn't what it is now," he said. "The ADA and the law have to pick up with technology."
Courts are divided on whether Web sites must comply with ADA requirements, he said, adding, "it's been an open question."
