Yesterday’s hearing by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 was apparently very poorly attended. According to the American Association of People with Disabilities’ blog , of the twenty-one Committee members, only Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) attended for the entire meeting. One other member, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) apparently arrived late and left early. Among the absent Committee members were Presidential contenders Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton(D-NY) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Committee Chair Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

Despite the poor attendance from Committee members, the witness list was impressive. With the exception of management attorney Camille Olson of Seyfarth Shaw, all of the witnesses asserted that judicial interpretations have created fewer protections for disabled workers than was the original intent of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

Dick Thornbush, who was U.S. Attorney General when the ADA was enacted, testified:

[T]he definition of who qualifies as an “individual with a disability” has become so restrictive, and difficult to prove, that millions of people we all intended to protect from discrimination – including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, diabetes, – are no longer covered by the law’s protections.

Ms. Olson, who also teaches employment discrimination law at Loyola University School of Law, expressed opposition to the scope of the proposed amendments:

S. 1881’s proposed changes, however would unquestionably expand ADA coverage to encompass almost any physical or mental impairment – no matter how minor or short-lived. In essence, S. 1881 changes the focus of the ADA from whether an individual has a functional “disability” to whether the individual has an “impairment,” without regard to whether the impairment or ailment in any way limits the individual’s daily life. Indeed, under the proposed definition, almost anything less than perfect health would be a disability under the ADA.

Written witness statements are linked below:

• John D. Kemp, Attorney, Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville, P.C., Washington, D.C.
• Dick Thornburgh, Counsel, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Preston, Gates, Ellis, LLP, Washington, D.C
• Steven Orr, Pharmacist, Rapid City, South Dakota
• Camille Olson, Attorney, Seyfarth & Shaw, Chicago, Illinois
• Chai Feldblum, Director, Federal Legislation Clinic and Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center, Washington, D.C.

Senator Harkin, who was an original co-sponsor of the 1990 ADA, made this video upon his introduction of the ADA Restoration Act in the Senate:

• WATCH LIST: ADA Restoration Act of 2007