The House of Representatives has approved a business-supported measure that
would expand the scope of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The ADA Amendments Act, which the House passed on a 402-17 vote, came in
response to a series of court decisions that narrowed the scope of the ADA’s
protections.
Supporters of the ADA Amendments Act, which represented a series of
compromises between employers and advocates for the disabled, claimed that the
legislation is necessary to restore the act to its framers’ intent. For example,
the measure makes clear that courts cannot consider an individual’s use of
mitigating measures such as medication in determining whether that person’s
impairment is substantially limiting and thus covered by the ADA.
One day before the vote, the Office of Management and Budget issued a
statement of administration policy in general support of the bill, while raising
concerns about a few provisions. The statement, however, did not say that OMB
would recommend that President Bush veto the bill.
A broader ADA reform was introduced in the Senate last year but has not come
to a vote.
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