Senate Sends Disabled Rights Bill to Bush : Legislation: It is hailed as an ‘Emancipation Proclamation’ by one lawmaker. The White House says the President will sign it soon.

Legislation hailed as an “Emancipation Proclamation” for 43 million disabled Americans cleared its final congressional hurdle Friday as the Senate passed it on a vote of 91 to 6.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that President Bush will sign the Americans With Disabilities Act as soon as a ceremony can be arranged--probably as early as next week.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said the bill would allow millions of people to “look forward to the day when they will be judged by the strength of their abilities, not misconceptions about their disabilities.”

The bill defines as disabled anyone who has a mental or physical impairment limiting “some major life function.” It protects the disabled from discrimination in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.

“This legislation will serve as a declaration of independence for millions of persons with disabilities in this country,” Bush said Friday.

Just before the final Senate vote Friday, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) gave a dramatic tribute to his brother Frank, who is deaf.

Harkin, chief Senate sponsor of the bill, which he termed a “20th-Century Emancipation Proclamation,” addressed his colleagues in sign language: “I wanted to say to my brother Frank that today was my proudest day in 16 years in Congress.”

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch of Utah, a principal Republican co-sponsor, became misty-eyed when he spoke of the travails and accomplishments of a brother-in-law who has polio.

The disabilities bill, like other major civil rights legislation, includes a variety of sanctions for violators. It allows victims of employment discrimination to seek back pay, reinstatement and legal fees.

In an effort to ease its impact on business, lawmakers included language phasing in the bill’s provisions. The bill exempts from its hiring provisions businesses with fewer than 15 employees.