"Life, liberty and the pursuit happiness" is a phrase we all learn as children from the United States Constitution. For the benefit of our future generations, we must ensure disabled individuals have the same opportunities available as everyone. Individuals with disabilities have priceless gifts to offer society and we are a better people as a result. One of my top priorities in Congress is addressing the needs of this vital community of individuals:

Prevent discrimination: We must recognize disability as a natural part of the human experience; work to assure equality of opportunity, encourage full participation, encourage independent living, and encourage economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.

Promote appreciation: Individuals with disabilities so often have a perspective the rest of us don't have. We learn compassion, heroism, humility, courage, and self-sacrifice from these special individuals—and their gift to us is to inspire us, by their example, to achieve these virtues ourselves.

Change individual attitudes: While we can change public policy to reflect the ideas embodied in the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is just as important to seek change at the individual level. Every human being has the ability to change ideas and action in their daily life, and every person should be treated as an individual with intrinsic human dignity and demanding of respect.