The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was the next step in the civil rights revolution that began with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA extended broad civil rights protections to America's 54 million citizens with a disability. To the over 97,000 working disabled Arkansans, this legislation has helped to establish greater options for individuals who are willing and able participants in our communities. 

Among its key provisions, the ADA prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. It calls for the removal of barriers to access for people with disabilities to a wide range of public accommodations, including restaurants, lodgings, places of entertainment, hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies, grocery stores, and all other retail and service establishments. It also requires the removal of barriers to access for people with disabilities to various public services, including public transportation. Additionally it mandates that telecommunications be made accessible to those with speech and hearing impairments through the use of special relay systems. 

Over the last 15 years, there is no question that the ADA has ushered in significant change. One need only look around to see the signs of progress: curb cuts, wheelchair lifts, Braille signs, and assistive listening devices at movie theaters. The ADA has made transit systems and communications systems more accessible. And, perhaps most importantly, the ADA has begun to change society's attitudes toward people with disabilities. 

Despite this important and widespread progress, the promise of the ADA remains unfulfilled for far too many. A major focus of the ADA, for example, was to improve employment opportunities. However, the evidence shows that there has been little change in the employment rate of people with disabilities. Only 32 percent of people of working age who have a disability are employed. And today, people with disabilities are still three times more likely to live in poverty. 

Furthermore, we can still find disparities for the disabled in education, housing, and technology. It is for this reason that we need to take greater steps to ensure that the disabled community not only has access to, but is also participating in gainful elements of all programs and facets of society. I call on my fellow colleagues to join together in a bipartisan effort to find ways we can strengthen the ADA and fulfill our commitment to our disabled communities.