,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #ai  ,,in ,,the       
,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states   
,july #bc1 #bjbe,mr4 ,blumenthal 7for   
himself1 ,ms4 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,merkley1
 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 and  
,ms4 ,klobuchar7 submitted the following
 concurrent resolution2 which was       
referred to the ,committee on ,health1  
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions       
,,concurrent ,,resolution  ,recognizing 
the need to improve physical access to  
many federally funded facilities for all
 people of the ,united ,states1         
particularly people with disabilities4  
,whereas the ,first ,amendment to the   
,constitution prevents ,congress from   
making any law respecting an            
establishment of religion1 prohibiting  
the free exercise of religion1 or       
abridging the freedom of speech1 the    
freedom of the press1 the right to      
peaceably assemble1 or to petition for a
 governmental redress of grievances1 and
 was adopted on ,december #ae1 #agia1 as

 #a of the #aj amendments that          
constitute the ,bill of ,rights2        
,whereas the ,bill of ,rights1          
specifically the ,first ,amendment to   
the ,constitution1 calls for the right  
of all persons to peaceably assemble1   
and to this end1 all persons1 regardless
 of their physical ability1 shall be    
offered equal opportunity to access all 
federally funded1 in whole or part1     
amenities2 ,whereas1 in the #ce years   
since ,congress enacted the ,americans  
with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db   
,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq471 there have   
been unprecedented advances in all forms
 of technology1 typified by automatic   
doors2 ,whereas1 in #bjbd1 the ,centers 
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention   
found that #a in #d adults1 or more than
 #gj1jjj1jjj people1 have a disability  
in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas        
disability is a universal concern1 as an
 aging population increases the         
incidence of frailty and disability2    
,whereas1 as significant advances in    

medical treatment result in increased   
survival rates1 the incidence of        
disability increases2 ,whereas1 in      
#bjbd1 the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics
 found that #ca percent of all veterans1
 or #e1ejj1jjj veterans1 had a          
service-connected disability2 ,whereas1 
in #bjbd1 the ,bureau of ,labor         
,statistics found that the unemployment 
rate of persons with a disability was   
nearly twice that of nondisabled adults2
 ,whereas1 in #bjbd1 the ,bureau of     
,labor ,statistics found that people of 
color have the highest disability rates 
in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,public
 ,law #ij-dhj 7commonly known as the    
,architectural ,barriers ,act of #aifh7 
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #daea et seq47 was       
enacted to ensure that certain federally
 funded facilities are designed and     
constructed to be accessible to people  
with disabilities2 ,whereas the ,united 
,states ,access ,board 7referred to in  
this preamble as the ,board7 issued a   
final rule in ,august #bjbc addressing  

accessibility guidelines for pedestrian 
facilities in the public right-of-way   
that addresses various issues1 including
 access for blind pedestrians at street 
crossings1 wheelchair access to         
on-street parking1 and various          
constraints posed by space limitations1 
roadway design practices1 slope1 and    
terrain2 ,whereas the ,august #bjbc     
guidelines of the ,board 7referred to in
 this preamble as the guidelines7 cover 
pedestrian access to sidewalks and      
streets1 including crosswalks1 curb     
ramps1 street furnishings1 pedestrian   
signals1 parking1 and other components  
of public rights-of-way2 ,whereas the   
aim of the ,board in developing the     
guidelines was to ensure that access for
 persons with disabilities is provided  
wherever a pedestrian way is newly built
 or altered1 and that the same degree of
 convenience1 connection1 and safety    
afforded the public generally is        
available to pedestrians with           
disabilities2 ,whereas the ,department  

of ,transportation adopted the          
guidelines in ,december #bjbd1 and all  
newly constructed and altered transit   
stops in the ,united ,states became     
subject to the guidelines in ,january   
#bjbe2 ,whereas1 once the guidelines are
 adopted by the ,department of ,justice1
 they will become enforceable standards 
under title ,,ii of the ,americans with 
,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db        
,u4,s4,c4 #abaca et seq472 and ,whereas 
the ,united ,states was founded on      
principles of equality and freedom1 and 
those principles require that all       
people1 including people with           
disabilities1 are able to engage as     
equal members of society3 ,now1         
therefore1 be it ,that ,congress-- 7#a7 
recognizes that people with disabilities
 in the ,united ,states experience      
barriers to access on a daily basis2    
7#b7 reaffirms its support of ,public   
,law #ij-dhj 7commonly known as the     
,architectural ,barriers ,act of #aifh7 
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #daea et seq47 and the   

,americans with ,disabilities ,act of   
#aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq471   
and encourages full compliance with     
those ,acts2 and  7#c7 pledges to make  
universal and inclusive design a guiding
 principle for all infrastructure bills 
and projects and will continue working  
to identify and remove the barriers that
 prevent all people of the ,united      
,states from having equal access to the 
services provided by the ,federal       
,government4