Disabled Americans hope this is the one

This mornings House Education and Labor Committee’s passage of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 2008 brought wide praise throughout intrest groups across the political spectrum.

Tony Coelho, who was the primary author of the original Americans with Disabilities Act was joined by Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as Nancy Zirkin from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to sing the measures praises on an afternoon conference call.

One common theme amongst the newly formed coalition of the business and disabilities communities was to see that the original intent of the 1990 landmark legislation was carried through. Zirkin believes that “narrow courts have chipped away the ADA coverage” that was originally meant in the first piece of legislation.

Zirkin as well as others argued that the current law is unfair because it punishes someone who succeeds and is doing well. Tom Donohue with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce agreed: “the narrow interpretation creates a glass ceiling, if we do well we get disqualified.” Currently the United States has about 40 million people who are disabled which represents about one in every seven people. If the new ADA legislation is passed and signed into law many of those people who originally denied coverage for ADA assistance will now receive it.

While no one knows when the measure will come up for a full vote in the Senate the coalition believes that it is possible to get it done by the end of the year.