| Dear friends,
This past week marked the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a key piece of civil rights legislation that opened many doors for people with disabilities. The passage of the ADA was the culmination of decades of activism that only found success when a bipartisan coalition came together to demand better. The ADA has been transformative in many ways, but there is still much to be accomplished. It is just as important today as it was in the past that we continue to push forward.
One area in which people with disabilities continue to lag far behind is employment. Since the passage of the ADA in 1990, advocates have been pushing for states and the federal government to address the massive employment gap for people with disabilities. We know that competitive, family-sustaining employment is critical to achieving real independence, but progress has been slow to occur, with
65% of that group not engaged in the workforce. That is one of the reasons I was honored to be appointed to Pennsylvania’s Employment First Oversight Commission, which is charged with increasing quality employment opportunities for those with disabilities. I welcome this opportunity to advocate for and with people with disabilities, and I pledge to approach the task with the sense of urgency it demands.
At the same time, many challenges people face are found in the simple, everyday activities of daily life. For example, researchers report that more than 50% of wheelchairs break down within the first six months after they are fitted to their user. For a wheelchair user, this is more than just an inconvenience – it can mean being stranded at home, perhaps in bed, and missing out on work, school and so much more. Some resort to using duct tape to hold their wheelchairs together so that they can remain mobile, and I believe that most of us would agree that this is not an acceptable solution. That is why I introduced HB 2522, Insurance Coverage for Wheelchair Maintenance, along with my colleague Rep. Bridget Kosierowski (D-Lackawanna). This bill would require that each Pennsylvania wheelchair user, whether publicly or privately insured, has access to two wheelchair maintenance well-visits a year, treating wheelchair maintenance as another aspect of routine care.
The promise of the ADA is a tremendous one, but there is still much work to be done. As we remember the efforts of the many heroes whose success we celebrate on this anniversary, we must all remember that the signing of the ADA was never meant to be an end – rather, it was just the beginning.
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