Tell Your Representatives: “Don’t Roll Back Our Rights!” Help Stop Attacks on the ADA!

We recently got word that H.R. 3765, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015, is expected to go to a full floor vote this month. This is a dangerous bill, and we need your help to make sure it doesn’t pass!

This bill would be a major setback for our community. While the new version of the bill removes the contentious criminal fine, it would still make it harder for people with disabilities to exercise our rights. The bill would give businesses that have denied us access for over 26 years additional time to comply with the ADA, while removing any incentive for businesses to come into compliance before receiving a notification. These businesses will face no consequences for their years of discrimination, while millions of people with disabilities will continue to be unable to participate in basic activities in our communities.

We need to ensure that this bill does not get passed out of the full House. We must make sure that EVERY Representative hears from their constituents and understands the dangers of this bill. Please go to the NCIL Action Center and send a message to your Representatives telling them they must vote NO on H.R. 3765!

For more information on this issue, see our alert from May and our update last week.

Draft Letter

Dear (Member)

I’m writing to you today to express my opposition to H.R. 3765, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015. This bill poses significant risks to people with disabilities around the country, and it jeopardizes our ability to access our communities. 

While the intent behind these bills is to protect American businesses from “cash-hungry attorneys and plaintiffs,” these efforts are misguided. The problems you are trying to fix will not be solved with these bills, because they are not problems with the ADA. In fact, Title III of the ADA does not authorize damages; any monetary damages for accessibility violations are based on state laws in only a handful of states.

What this legislation would do is make people with disabilities wait even longer to see our rights recognized. If H.R. 3765 is turned into law, we would expect to see much less voluntary compliance with the ADA. Twenty-six years after the passage of the ADA, that is unacceptable.

People with disabilities deserve to have the same level of access as people without disabilities. The ADA ensured us the right to equality, and these bills threaten to erode that right.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)