ADA Restoration Act

On Tuesday, January 29, advocates and several other “interested parties” gathered for the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee hearing on HR 3135, The ADA Restoration Act. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer opened the hearing by stating plainly that the Restoration Act is not an expansion of the ADA, as opponents claim, but a necessary solution to the severe damage done to the ADA by the Courts.

Witnesses included advocate and AAPD Executive Director Andy Imparato, Law Professor Robert Burgdorf, and Carey McClure, a person with a clear-cut story of disability-based employment discrimination, whose case was rejected on the grounds that he is “not disabled enough” to be protected by the ADA, even though his disability is muscular dystrophy, a disability clearly intended to be covered. McClure’s story was compelling and many Representatives picked up on his experience as an obvious indication of the need for something to be done. Imparato and Burgdorf provided the framework to help the Committee understand why Mr. McClure’s story was representative of the experiences of the disability community as a whole. However, many Representatives were not at this point yet convinced that ADA Restoration was a suitable solution.

Representative Howard McKeon (R-CA), seemed to be supportive of a solution, but opposed to the Restoration Act as a means, expressing the concern that too many Americans would be covered by the ADA, leaving little resources for “those most in need”. The fourth witness, David K. Fram, Esquire, jumped on this opportunity to condemn the Restoration Act. He began by testifying that he loves the ADA, has promoted Equal Employment Opportunity for several years, and fully supports employment discrimination protections for people with disabilities. At this point however, Mr. Fram took a few personal liberties with the Committee, claiming with a chuckle that people with male pattern baldness (like himself) or a chipped tooth would be entitled to make ridiculous requests of their employers and sue any time a request was not accommodated.

Luckily, the Representatives had little tolerance for Mr. Fram’s antics and quickly began to question the validity of his statements. Sarbanes (D-MD) justly pointed out that Fram’s concerns seemed like red herrings, designed to throw them off track. Woolsey (D-CA) added that with any employment policy there will be those who try to take advantage, but that that is a matter of human resource management, not the Congress. At this point, Mr. McClure redirected Fram’s misrepresentation of people who seek to file ADA complaints and people with disabilities as a whole when he broke in, “No, we just want to work”.

“Yes, most people just want to work” Woolsey added, but Ranking Member McKeon stuck with his line of questioning. He pointed out that when the ADA was passed, Congress claimed that it would protect 34 million people with disabilities. He asked Fram for an estimate of how many Americans would be covered by the ADA if the Restoration Act passed. Arrogantly, Fram claimed the number could rise as high as 350 million and that our employment infrastructure could not support this increase. Imparato and Burgdorf rightfully seized this opportunity to drive home the point that the intention of the ADA and the Restoration Act was the same: to protect all Americans from disability-based discrimination. They followed these statements with several facts and figures showing that the Restoration Act poses no real threat to business or the legal system. Representative Payne (D-NJ) reminded the Committee of his experiences during the passage of the original ADA, the lessons he learned from Justin Dart, and the very similar doomsday predictions opponents used to deter passage in 1990. Fram had very little to say after that point and discussion turned to the specifics of the Restoration Act.

Although some Representatives showed some hesitation, the witnesses made a great argument for passage of the Restoration Act in a heavily attended hearing, significantly clearing doubts and gathering support for this critical civil rights initiative. NCIL congratulates the many advocates who participated in the hearing and urged their Representatives to attend. We would especially like to thank the many members who travelled from throughout the region to show that the ADA is our civil rights law and that we will no longer tolerate the abuse and neglect of our civil rights and denial of our equality by the Courts. Read the Committee Press Release.

DEMOCRATIC CO-SPONSORS: George Miller, Chairman (CA); Dale Kildee (MI), Donald Payne (NJ), Robert Andrews (NJ), Robert Scott (VA), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Rubén Hinojosa (TX), Carolyn McCarthy (NY), Dennis Kucinich (OH), David Wu (OR), Rush Holt (NJ), Susan Davis (CA), Danny Davis (IL), Raúl Grijalva (AZ), Timothy Bishop (NY), Linda Sánchez (CA), John Sarbanes (MD), Joe Sestak (PA), Dave Loebsack (IA), Mazie Hirono (HI), Jason Altmire (PA), John Yarmuth (KY), Phil Hare (IL), Yvette Clarke (NY), Joe Courtney (CT), Carol Shea-Porter (NH)

REPUBLICAN CO-SPONSORS: Howard "Buck" McKeon, Ranking Member (CA); Thomas E. Petri (WI), Peter Hoekstra (MI), Michael Castle (DE-At Large), Mark Souder (IN), Vernon Ehlers (MI), Luis Fortuño (PR).

Republican Not-Yet-Sponsors: Judy Biggert (IL), Todd Russell Platts (PA), Ric Keller (FL) , Joe Wilson (SC), John Kline (MN) , Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Kenny Marchant (TX), Tom Price (GA), Charles Boustany, Jr. (LA), Virginia Foxx (NC), John "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (NY), Rob Bishop (UT), David Davis (TN), Timothy Walberg (MI), Dean Heller (NV).

Follow up: We are keeping track of what Congressional staff members tell constituents. Please contact Deb Cotter, NCIL Policy Analyst, by email deb@ncil.org or phone (202) 207-0334, ext. 1008, to let us know what your Representative’s office says. Thank you!

On Thursday, November 15th, disability advocates joined the Road to Freedom Bus Tour to hear national and DC leaders talk about progress made under and restoration needed to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A large crowd met in the Dirksen Senate Office Building to view an exhibit of Disability Rights history and attend a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, S. 1881, legislation that would that would restore vital civil right protections for children and adults with all types of disabilities. Much thanks to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and his staff for his leadership on this critical civil rights issue!

Under the direction of Senator Harkin, the Senate HELP Committee heard testimony about a number of Supreme Court decisions that have significantly reduced the protections available to people with disabilities in employment settings. Witnesses included:

Long time disability rights leader John Kemp spoke of his personal experience with a significant disability and stated that disability discrimination is "un-American." Read His Prepared Testimony in Full.

Dick Thornburgh, Attorney General under Former President George H.W. Bush, like Senator Harkin, spoke of his role in the passage of the original ADA and what he understood Congress' intent to be. Read His Prepared Testimony.

Steven Orr, a pharmacist with diabetes from South Dakota, spoke next. Mr. Orr detailed his experience of discrimination by his employer (WalMart), who told him he was being fired because of his diabetes. Orr nonetheless lost his case when the Courts determined that he was not "disabled enough" for the ADA's protections. Read His Prepared Testimony.

Next, two law professors gave widely different assessments of the basic question of the day, “Does the ADA need to be revised?”

Camille Olson, Loyola Professor representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, claimed that the court cases under discussion were red herrings, cases where plaintiffs had simply not made a strong enough case or lacked sufficient legal counsel, and that the protections of the ADA are strong enough as they are. While noting all the progress in the workplace to date on account of the ADA, Ms. Olson argued that the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 is not a suitable solution to address concerns, arguing that the legislation included too many people with all varieties and severities of impairments in its protections, including, in her mind, people with a simple case of the sniffles. She stated that case history has relied heavily on the idea of a person with a disability being defined by impairment in a “significant life activity”. When posed the question by Senator Tom Harkin: Who do you propose conduct these assessments? Ms. Olson had no answer. Read Her Prepared Testimony.

Georgetown Law Professor Chai Feldblum seized this opportunity to redirect the debate to the subject of the hearing: the Congressional intent of the ADA when passed in 1990. Having worked on the original law, Dr. Feldblum testified, along with Senator Harkin, that indeed, the ADA was meant to cover all people with disabilities, regardless of a functional assessment and that the ADA addresses discrimination based on disability, especially in cases in which a false assumption based on prejudice is the root of the discrimination. In this understanding of the ADA, actual severity of disability is of no consequence. She made the argument that everyone should be covered under the ADA to ensure that everyone is protected from disability-based discrimination. Read Her Prepared Testimony.

Read NCIL’s testimony to the Committee below.

TAKE ACTION: Urge Your Senators to Co-Sponsor the ADA Restoration Act!

Call your Senators, especially those from the HELP Committee, TODAY and urge them to co-sponsor the ADA Restoration Act (S. 1881). It's important that this bill show bipartisan support, like the original ADA did, so please help with outreach to the Republican Members of the HELP Committee in particular. Because Harkin cares so much about this legislation, some Democratic Senators are waiting to sign onto the bill until some Republican support can be mustered.

To identify your state's Senators, visit www.senate.gov or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A list of the Senate HELP Committee Members is provided below. Some may have already signed on as cosponsors. If you call and discover this, simply thank them for their co-sponsorship, and support! Currently, only Senators Kennedy (MA) and Specter (PA) are listed as co-sponsors of the Senate bill.

Judd Gregg (NH), Lamar Alexander (TN), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Orrin G. Hatch (UT), Pat Roberts (KS), Wayne Allard (CO), Tom Coburn (OK)

Christopher J. Dodd (CT), Barbara A. Mikulski (MD), Jeff Bingaman (NM), Patty Murray (WA), Jack Reed (RI), Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Barack Obama (IL), Sherrod Brown (OH)

Once you have contacted your Senators, please contact Deb Cotter, Policy Analyst, at deb@ncil.org (please put “ADA Restoration Advocate” in the subject line) or (202) 207-0334, ext. 1008, and let her know the response you received. We are keeping track of cosponsors and need to know what Congressional staffers are telling their constituents.

Individual NCIL Members who are interested in this civil rights issue are encouraged to consider joining our ADA/Civil Rights Task Force by contacting Mark Derry by email: adamarkd@aol.com or phone: (304) 296-3510. Nothing about us without us!

NCIL Testimony for Senate HELP Committee (New!)

November 15, 2007

The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy, Chair
The Honorable Michael B. Enzi, Ranking Member
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
United States Senate
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Kennedy, Ranking Member Enzi, and Distinguished Members:

We are writing on behalf of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) to strongly urge you to support the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, S. 1881. Since enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, people with disabilities have made substantial strides toward societal inclusion and full participation. However, in recent years, a number of Supreme Court decisions have significantly reduced the protections available to people with disabilities in employment settings. Restoring the Act to Congress’ original intent would enable people with disabilities to secure and maintain employment without fear of losing their job because of their disability. Congress clearly intended to cover the full spectrum of disabilities, both visible and invisible.

NCIL is the oldest cross-disability, national grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Our members include Centers for Independent Living, State Independent Living Councils, people with disabilities, and other disability rights organizations. As a membership organization, NCIL advances Independent Living (IL) and the rights of people with disabilities through consumer-driven advocacy. NCIL envisions a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

A key part of our work is to implement the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act by moving people with disabilities out of institutions and into community-based settings so they can control their own destinies and live independently. NCIL also works tirelessly to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act and other crucial civil rights laws are not only fully implemented, but also enforced.

[Editor’s Note: Background, and Issues, listed in full below, were also included in this letter]

We welcome the opportunity to comment on this critical civil rights law and look forward to a robust discussion of ways in which we can work together to achieve the full promise of the ADA.

Sincerely,

John A. Lancaster                                                      Kelly Buckland
Executive Director                                                     President

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Chair
The Honorable Trent Franks, Ranking Member
Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
U.S. House of Representatives
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

We are writing on behalf of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) to strongly urge you to support the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, H.R. 3195. Since enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, people with disabilities have made substantial strides toward societal inclusion and full participation. However, in recent years, a number of Supreme Court decisions have significantly reduced the protections available to people with disabilities in employment settings. Restoring the Act to Congress’ original intent would enable people with disabilities to secure and maintain employment without fear of losing their job because of their disability. Congress clearly intended to cover the full spectrum of disabilities, both visible and invisible.

NCIL is the oldest cross-disability, national grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Our members include Centers for Independent Living, State Independent Living Councils, people with disabilities, and other disability rights organizations. As a membership organization, NCIL advances independent living and the rights of people with disabilities through consumer-driven advocacy. NCIL envisions a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

A key part of our work is to implement the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act by moving people with disabilities out of institutions and into community-based settings so they can control their own destinies and live independently. NCIL also works tirelessly to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act and other crucial civil rights laws are not only fully implemented, but also enforced.

We welcome the opportunity to comment on this critical civil rights law and look forward to a robust discussion of ways in which we can work together to achieve the full promise of the ADA.

Background: Passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was designed as a "clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities." Without doubt, the ADA has transformed America’s communities, removing barriers to persons with disabilities in the built environment and infrastructure, and has substantively advanced the cause of community integration for people with disabilities.

Issues: Yet, as you will hear today from National Council on Disability Executive Director Michael Collins, NCD documented in its “Righting the ADA” report, a series of flawed Supreme Court decisions have seriously undermined our ability to realize the full promise of the ADA. In Sutton v. United Airlines, and Toyota v. Williams, the Supreme Court has taken to interpreting the definition of disability in a restrictive manner that Congress never envisioned, placing the burden on persons with disabilities to prove that they are entitled to the ADA’s protections – particularly in the employment sphere. This creates a Catch-22 in which employees can be discriminated against on the basis of their disability but unable to enforce their rights because they cannot meet the high threshold the courts have set to prove they are disabled. Furthermore, in University of Alabama v. Garrett, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the 11th Amendment prohibits suits in federal court by state employees to recover money damages under Title I of the ADA. The Supreme Court’s restrictive approach to the ADA in employment cases is especially disconcerting since the unemployment of persons with disabilities wishing to work remains widespread.

Proper implementation of the original intent of the ADA in the employment sphere is critical to the economic self-sufficiency and full societal participation of people with disabilities that is at the core of the Independent Living (IL) movement. The fact that only 7% of persons with disabilities own their own homes and roughly 30% of Americans with disabilities are employed is a reflection of the continued inability of persons with disabilities to enforce their right to non-discrimination in the workplace under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Issues Raised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims that H.R. 3195 ensures that protections on the basis of disability apply broadly. This is correct. The Supreme Court did not understand that significant disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act includes people with intellectual disabilities (formerly known as Mental Retardation), epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, and mental illnesses, among others. For a person who merely has poor vision that is correctible, he or she may indeed be considered disabled by a court. The question is not whether a person with a disability has a disability or is regarded as a person with a disability. The question is whether or not the person has been discriminated against on the basis of disability. The intent of H.R. 3195 is to prevent discrimination on the basis of disability, not to create a protected class.

The Chamber of Commerce also alleges that “H.R. 3195 would reverse the long-standing rule that allows employers to determine what the essential functions of a job are, allowing plaintiffs to second-guess routine job decisions that employers must make every day.” There is no such language in H.R. 3195 to this effect.

The problem with the Supreme Court’s and lower courts’ decisions referenced in HR 3195’s “Findings and Purposes” is that they have not even considered whether there has been discrimination based on disability. Therefore, the courts ruled that the plaintiff was either not disabled or not disabled enough to be protected by the ADA. Had the courts properly reviewed these cases, they would have decided them on the basis of whether the plaintiff was qualified to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

The real problem in the Chamber of Commerce’s August 22 letter to the U.S. House of Representatives is not their fallacious reasoning, but the blatant prejudice it exhibits against Americans with disabilities. NCIL has members in all but five Congressional Districts. Our experience working with businesses in communities across the country over three decades shows that the majority of businesses are more open minded than the board and staff of the Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact Deb Cotter of our policy staff if you have additional questions or concerns. Deb can be reached at (202) 207-0334 or deb@ncil.org

Action Alert! House Panel to Hold Hearing on ADA Restoration Act!
October 3, 2007

Your phone calls and faxes worked! On Thursday, October 4th, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, H.R. 3195. This legislation will restore the Americans with Disabilities Act's original intent, to eliminate discrimination based on disability and the ADA will rightfully reclaim its place among our nation's most significant civil rights laws. The hearing witness list includes House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Michael C. Collins, Executive Director of the National Council on Disability (previously Executive Director of the California State Independent Living Council); a representative from the Chamber of Commerce; and a person with a disability who is affected by the limits the courts have placed on the ADA. (See background information below.)

NCIL urges people in the Greater Washington, DC area to attend the hearing. It will be held at 10:00 AM in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building. If you cannot make it in person, there will be a live Web cast during the hearing that you can "tune" into wherever you are. For more information, visit: http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings.aspx?ID=182

TAKE ACTION: NCIL will submit testimony for the hearing. We strongly urge you to write testimony to the Subcommittee. Testimony should be faxed to Heather Sawyer at (202) 224-4299. Please share your testimony with Deb Cotter, NCIL Policy Analyst, by email at Deb@ncil.org or by fax at (202) 207-0340.

Then, call your Senators and urge them to cosponsor the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, S. 1881! While keeping pressure on the House, our sights are set on the Senate. If one of your Senators is among the Republican members of the Senate Help, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee listed below, your phone calls and faxes are urgently needed to convince these key members to cosponsor S. 1881!

Michael B. Enzi (WY), Judd Gregg (NH), Lamar Alexander (TN), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Orrin G. Hatch (UT), Pat Roberts (KS), Wayne Allard (CO), and Tom Coburn, M.D. (OK).

ACTION NEEDED:
Call your Representative AND Senators (http://www.congress.gov) and urge them to cosponsor the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R.3195 /S. 1881)!

As WhAM! readers know, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, S. 1881 and H.R. 3195 on July 26th. Through this legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act's intent, to eliminate discrimination based on disability, will be properly restored and the ADA will rightfully reclaim its place among our nation's civil rights laws.

You calls and faxes are working! As of August 13th, 181 Representatives signed onto H.R. 3195! Keep calling! While keeping pressure on the House, our sights are set on the Senate. Please visit www.senate.gov to contact your Senators and urge them to cosponsor and support S. 1881. If one of your Senators is among the Republican members of the Senate Help, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee listed below, please urge them to cosponsor the bill today!

TARGETED HELP COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Michael B. Enzi (WY), Judd Gregg (NH), Lamar Alexander (TN), Richard Burr (NC), Johnny Isakson (GA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Orrin G. Hatch (UT), Pat Roberts (KS), Wayne Allard (CO), Tom Coburn, M.D. (OK).

Please take advantage of Congress' August recess to attend town hall meetings and other events held by your Members of Congress while they are back in their Districts (in your area). NCIL members are encouraged to invite Members of Congress and their staff to visit Centers for Independent Living in their district and state.
Action Needed:

Call your Representative and Senators and urge them to cosponsor the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 (H.R. 3195 and S. 1881)! Issue Background and Talking Points are available under Additional Resources. Once you have contacted your Representative and two Senators, please contact Deb Cotter, Policy Analyst, at deb@ncil.org or (202) 207-0334, ext. 1008, and let her know the response you received. We are keeping track of cosponsors and need to know what Congressional staffers are telling their constituents.

17 years ago, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with overwhelming bipartisan support. However, in recent years, a number of Supreme Court decisions have significantly reduced the protections available to people with disabilities in employment settings.

Courts are quick to side with businesses and employers, deciding against people with disabilities who challenge employment discrimination 97% of the time, often before the person has even had a chance to show that the employer treated them unfairly.

Indeed, courts have created an absurd Catch-22 by allowing employers to say a person is too disabled to do the job but not disabled enough to be protected by the ADA. People with conditions like epilepsy, diabetes, HIV, cancer, hearing loss, and mental illness that manage their disabilities with medication, prosthetics, hearing aids, etc. or mitigating measures are viewed as too functional to have a disability and are denied the ADA’s protection from employment discrimination.

People denied a job or fired because an employer mistakenly believes they cannot perform the job or because the employer does not want people with disabilities in the workplace are also denied the ADA's protection from employment discrimination.

NCIL has been working with a broad coalition of disability organizations who are helping Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) draft legislation, the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, which would enable Americans with disabilities utilizing the ADA to focus on the discrimination that they have experienced rather than having to first prove that they fall within the scope of the ADA's protection.

With this bill, the ADA's clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination on the basis of disability will be properly restored and the ADA can rightfully reclaim its place among our Nation's civil rights laws. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who played a leading role in passage of the ADA in 1990, will be an original cosponsor – but we need more Representatives to sign onto the bill when it is introduced to show the bipartisan support and importance of this measure.

Your help is urgently needed to garner support and passage of the ADA Restoration Act of 2007. Once you have contacted your Representative, please feel free to contact Deb Cotter with NCIL policy staff at deb@ncil.org or (202) 207-0334 and let her know the response you received.

HARKIN INTRODUCES BILL RESTORING HIS SIGNATURE LEGISLATION, THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Legislation would clarify Congress's intentions when passing the law 17 years ago
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the senator who crafted the legislation, Tom Harkin (D-IA), is offering a bill that would clarify its original intent and ensure that every American with a disability is protected from discrimination.

Considered to be one of the landmark civil rights laws of the 20th century, the ADA was designed to protect any individual who is treated less favorably because of a current, past, or perceived disability. The law was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.

Unfortunately, since the ADA was passed, a series of court decisions have ignored Congress’ clear intent regarding who should be protected under the law, and have narrowed the category of who qualifies as an “individual with a disability.”

“Many individuals who Congress intended to protect under the ADA – including people with epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer – are no longer protected as a result of these court decisions,” said Harkin. “These cases have created a bizarre catch-22 where people with serious conditions like epilepsy or diabetes could be forced to choose between treating their conditions and forfeiting their protections under the ADA, or not treating their conditions and being protected. That is not what Congress intended when we passed this law 17 years ago. This situation clearly cries out for a modest, reasonable legislative fix, and that's exactly what I am doing, today, by introducing the ADA Restoration Act of 2007.”

Harkin’s bill would restore the original intent of the ADA to protect all persons with disabilities without regard to mitigating circumstances, such as taking medication, or using an assistive device. This bill is being co-sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representations today.

Harkin’s legislation amends the definition of “disability” so that individuals with disabilities who Congress originally intended to protect from discrimination are covered under the ADA. This is accomplished by:

Redefining and clarifying the terms used in the definition of disability (such as “physical impairment” and “mental impairment”);
Adding a rule of construction to ensure that a person who uses mitigating measures (such as those with epilepsy or diabetes) will be protected under the law;
Defines the term “mitigating measures,” which is not currently defined in the ADA or in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations; clarifying that adverse treatment based on the mitigating measure itself or a side effect of the mitigating measure ( e.g., a person's prosthetic limb or a person's fatigue due to medicine) may constitute discrimination.
Modifies two findings in the ADA that had been misconstrued by the courts to support a narrow reading of “disability.”
Authorizes the appropriate executive agencies to issue regulations and guidance implementing the revised definition.
Harmonizes the ADA with other civil rights laws by prohibiting discrimination “on the basis of disability.”
Adds a rule of construction directing courts to construe the provisions of the ADA broadly, in order to advance the statute's remedial purpose

“As with the original passage of the ADA, it's going to take time to hold hearings and build strong majorities,” said Harkin. “But I look forward to working to restore Congress’ original intent, and, once again, to ensure that Americans with disabilities are protected from discrimination.”