,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #eeef  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #bd1
 #bjbf,ms4 ,duckworth introduced the    
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,foreign 
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to require all  
construction and renovation projects in 
,ukraine receiving funding from the     
,united ,states to comply with          
accessibility standards that are        
substantively equivalent to the         
,americans with ,disabilities ,act of   
#aiij1 the ,architectural ,barriers ,act
 of #aifh1 and related regulations4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,accessible ,ukraine ,act4  #b4    
,expansion of standards for             
accessibility for the disabled in       
,ukraine  7a7 ,in general ,except as    
provided in subsections 7b7 and 7c71 the
 standards set forth in section         
#geb4bcf-gj of title #dh1 ,code of      
,federal ,regulations1 as in effect on  
,january #bc1 #bjbd1 shall apply to any 

construction or renovation contract in  
,ukraine involving ,united ,states      
funding1 including contracts entered    
into by-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states      
,international ,development ,finance    
,corporation2  7#b7 the ,millennium     
,challenge ,corporation2 and  7#c7 the  
,ukraine ,relief1 ,recovery1            
,reconstruction and ,reform ,trust      
,fund4  7b7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary of  
,state may waive the applicability of   
subsection 7a7 if such waiver is in the 
national interest of the ,united        
,states4  7c7 ,exceptions  7#a7 ,normal 
maintenance ,normal maintenance1        
re-roofing1 painting1 or wallpapering1  
and changes to mechanical or electrical 
systems are not subject to the          
requirement under subsection 7a7 unless 
they affect the accessibility of the    
building or facility4  7#b7 ,emergency  
construction  7,a7 ,in general ,subject 
to subparagraph 7,b71 emergency         
construction intended to be temporary is
 not subject to the standards referred  

to in subsection 7a71 but every effort  
shall be made to meet such standards1   
including in emergency construction4    
7,b7 ,plan ,not later than #c months    
after determining emergency construction
 is necessary1 the ,secretary of ,state 
shall develop a plan-- 7i7 to address   
accessibility at the affected building  
or facility during such construction2   
and  7ii7 to comply with the standards  
referred to in subsection 7a7 to the    
maximum extent practicable4  7,c7       
,funding ,in the event of an emergency  
construction project1 the ,secretary of 
,state shall allocate such funds as may 
be necessary to ensure people with      
disabilities receive the same access to 
services at the affected building or    
facility as all other individuals4  7d7 
,funding prohibition ,no ,federal       
funding may be used for construction or 
renovation projects that facilitate the 
segregation or institutionalization of  
persons with disabilities4  7e7 ,rules  
of construction ,nothing in this ,act   

may be construed-- 7#a7 to dissuade     
recipients of ,federal funding from     
entering into contracts that would      
increase accessibility beyond the       
standards required under the            
,architectural ,barriers ,act of #aifh  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #daea et seq47 or the    
,americans with ,disabilities ,act of   
#aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq472 or
  7#b7 to facilitate the segregation or 
institutionalization of persons with    
disabilities4  #c4 ,accessibility       
working group  7a7 ,establishment ,not  
later than #ahj days after the date of  
the enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary of ,state shall establish an 
accessibility working group composed of 
government and private sector           
accessibility experts1 which shall      
leverage existing workstreams and expand
 its scope1 if needed-- 7#a7 to         
determine the validity of requests for  
exceptions based on emergency           
construction2  7#b7 to evaluate         
compliance with the requirements under  

this ,act2 and  7#c7 to coordinate with 
local organizations and entities for    
verification of compliance in           
construction and renovation projects    
subject to the standards referred to in 
section #b7;a74  7b7 ,publication ,the  
accessibility working group established 
pursuant to subsection 7a7 shall publish
 relevant findings and recommendations  
on a publicly available website in      
accordance with the standards set forth 
in version #b4a of the ,web ,content    
,accessibility ,guidelines or subsequent
 guidance published by the ,world ,wide 
,web ,consortium4  #d4 ,annual report   
,the ,secretary of ,state shall submit  
an annual report to the ,committee on   
,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representatives that     
includes--  7#a7 the number and amount  
of ,federal financial investment in     
construction and renovation projects    
subject to the requirements described in
 section #b2  7#b7 the number of        

waivers1 disaggregated by routine or    
emergency1 granted under section #b7;b71
 and the justification for each such    
waiver2  7#c7 recommendations for       
improving compliance with the           
requirements described in section #b2   
and  7#d7 a readout of major            
recommendations and results published by
 the accessibility working group        
pursuant to section #c7;b74