Far-Reaching Bill to Protect Disabled From Discrimination Gains Speed

Former Rep. Tony Coelho suffered seizures for six years, starting when he was about 15 years old. He had epilepsy caused by a head injury suffered in an automobile accident.

But he did not know that. His parents, holding to an ancient belief, told him that he was possessed by the devil and took him to witch doctors.

Coelho finally found out what was wrong after he was denied entry to a Roman Catholic seminary based on his medical exam. But when he sought other jobs, potential employers also turned him down. He lost his driver’s license. He became depressed and suicidal and began drinking heavily. “It hit me pretty hard,” he says. “I felt total rejection.”

Bipartisan Support

It was his personal experience that drove Coelho to sponsor and push hard for the Americans With Disabilities Act, a measure that would protect all disabled Americans against discrimination in private-sector employment and public accommodations--the same rights that are already guaranteed on the basis of race by the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Coelho (D-Merced) is no longer in Congress, but the bill has been quietly gaining speed in recent months on Capitol Hill with widespread bipartisan support and now appears destined for passage.

“Discrimination against people with disabilities remains pervasive in our society,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), one of the bill’s chief sponsors in the Senate. “People with disabilities are entitled to lead independent and productive lives, and they are entitled to make choices for themselves.”

Harkin remembers visiting his brother, who is deaf, in the hospital and having his brother tell him: “This thing must be broken,” referring to the nurse call button on the wall. “I keep pushing for my medicine and nobody comes.” So Harkin pressed it, and a voice boomed into the room: “Hello. May I help you?”

Bans Bias by Employers

The bill before Congress would prohibit discrimination based on handicap by all private businesses employing 15 or more people, unless the person otherwise was not qualified for the job. The measure would also require employers to make “reasonable accommodations” for the disabled in the workplace by removing physical barriers or providing special equipment, unless doing so poses an “undue hardship.”

All new buildings and public transportation would have to be accessible to disabled individuals. Existing facilities--including theaters, restaurants and hotels, for example--must make modest changes to accommodate disabled persons.

In a particularly far-reaching provision, the bill also would require telephone companies to put in place special relay systems to enable those with communication disorders to make calls. With non-voice telephone devices, the deaf and others would communicate with a telephone operator who, in turn, would relay the conversation verbally to the individual on the other end of the line.

Affects AIDS Patients

Interestingly, although the acronym AIDS appears nowhere in the proposed measure, the bill defines persons with contagious diseases as handicapped. Thus, it would also afford protection to people who have the deadly disease, to those who are infected with the virus--and to those who may even be perceived to be infected. The latter point is an important distinction, since relatives of AIDS patients have often themselves been the target of discrimination.

Under this definition, more than 40 million Americans would be considered disabled. Through its broad scope, the bill has forged a massive and unusual coalition of supporters. “You can see paralyzed vets in their wheelchairs passing out information about AIDS, and AIDS activists arguing in favor of retrofitting buses,” said one congressional aide who has worked on the legislation.

The AIDS protections alone embody what members of the public health community have repeatedly said could be the single most important tool to curbing the burgeoning epidemic. Many medical experts have long believed that once those at risk for AIDS know that they cannot be the subject of discrimination, they will be more willing to undergo testing for AIDS infection and can better receive treatment and education about the disease.

Extends Existing Law

The measure builds on partial protections for the handicapped already in federal law. The 1973 Rehabilitation Act already forbids discrimination against the handicapped in programs and facilities that receive federal funds, but advocates for disabled persons and AIDS activists have argued that the provisions must be extended to the private sector.

There were numerous calls for such legislation during the Ronald Reagan years, but they brought no action. Reagan said that the ideas needed more study, and preferred that action on such measures be left to state legislatures.

Bush More Receptive

President Bush has been more receptive. “The last day I was in office I called President Bush and asked him to recommit himself to the bill and try to get it done this year,” said Coelho, who resigned from the House last month to avoid an Ethics Committee investigation of the circumstances surrounding his purchase of a junk bond. “And he said ‘yes.’ He said: ‘Yes, absolutely, let’s get it done this year.’ I respect him for that.”

Bush Administration officials have a few problems with the bill, but have expressed overall broad support for its goals and have indicated that Bush will sign it. The measure, also sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), already has 48 co-sponsors in the Senate.

Strong Opposition

While the White House support has provided a big push, there is strong opposition, particularly in the business community.

Referring to the “reasonable accommodation” section, Zachary Fasman, representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in recent testimony before the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee that “the costs of this action would be enormous and obviously could have a disastrous impact upon many small businesses struggling to survive.” Further, he said, “Imposition of these costs on employers threatens to make American business even less competitive in our increasingly global economy.”

Supporters of the bill, on the other hand, argue that the costs of making the changes would be small, especially compared to the amount society now spends to support those with disabilities, particularly those now unable to work.

Fasman also criticized a provision of the bill that defines alcohol and drug abuse as handicaps, saying that it has the potential to create “safety ramifications regarding customers, clients and the public at large.”

He added: “It is particularly inappropriate that Congress should be considering such provisions at the same time that American business is increasingly being required, by federal agencies, to create and preserve a drug-free workplace.”

But Robert Silverstein, staff director and chief counsel to the Senate subcommittee on the handicapped, said that the provision requiring an individual to be qualified for the job eliminates such potential difficulties.

“You must show that you are qualified,” he said. “If you use drugs, or sell them, or engage in abusive behavior or absenteeism--if your behavior is not consistent with the rules--you get fired. The key is qualifications. The person has to be qualified . . . to be hired and to keep the job.”

Rep. William E. Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton), who has long been opposed to AIDS anti-discrimination legislation, said that he plans to fight the bill in the House.

Referring to AIDS patients and drug and alcohol abusers, he said that people who “engage in such activities . . . have no case worthy of being brought within the reach of handicapped status. It’s kind of like the young man who shoots both his parents and then throws himself on mercy of court because he’s an orphan.”

Nevertheless, the bill is expected to be approved in both houses, possibly with some amendments, and to be sent to the President. It may reach the Senate floor for a vote shortly after lawmakers return from their August recess.

“This bill is a revolutionary bill, no doubt about it,” said Pat Wright, director of the East Coast office of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. “It will change the way America is. It will make a society that is totally open to all Americans, not just to those who are able-bodied.”