A resolution recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling to protect the right of individuals with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 814 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 814

  Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-
  sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the
  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling to protect the
 right of individuals with disabilities to live in their own homes and
                              communities.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2026

 Mr. Kim (for himself, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper,
    Mr. Padilla, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Gallego, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. King, Mr.
 Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Reed, Ms. Warren, Mr. Durbin,
  Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Schiff, Mr.
 Coons, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Booker, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Markey, Mr. Murphy, and Mr.
 Bennet) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

  Recognizing the importance of independent living and economic self-
  sufficiency for individuals with disabilities made possible by the
  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and calling to protect the
 right of individuals with disabilities to live in their own homes and
                              communities.

Whereas, in enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
        12101 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as the ``Americans with
        Disabilities Act''), Congress recognized that ``historically, society
        has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities, and,
        despite some improvements, such forms of discrimination against
        individuals with disabilities continue to be a serious and pervasive
        social problem'';
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act recognizes the rights of individuals
        with disabilities to fully participate in their communities through
        independent living, equality of opportunity, and economic self-
        sufficiency;
Whereas, on June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States in Olmstead v.
        L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) (referred to in this preamble as ``the
        Olmstead decision'') held that, under the Americans with Disabilities
        Act, States must offer qualified individuals with disabilities the
        choice to receive their long-term services and support in a community-
        based setting;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States further recognized that
        ``confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life
        activities of individuals, including activities involving family
        relations and social contacts, work options, economic independence,
        educational advancement, and cultural enrichment'';
Whereas, as a result of the integration mandate, many individuals with
        disabilities have been able to live in their own homes, and become
        productive members of the community, particularly through access to home
        and community-based services through the Medicaid program under title
        XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (referred to in
        this preamble as ``the Medicaid program'');
Whereas 36 years after the date of enactment of the Americans with Disabilities
        Act, and 27 years after the Olmstead decision, the Department of Justice
        issued a deeply flawed and harmful opinion that rejects the integration
        mandate and threatens the hard-won progress toward full integration of
        individuals with disabilities into society;
Whereas, prior to the Department of Justice opinion described in the preceding
        whereas clause, the Olmstead decision and the integration mandate of the
        Americans with Disabilities Act and section 504 of the Rehabilitation
        Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) have been repeatedly affirmed by courts
        across the United States, by Congress, and in Federal regulations,
        prohibiting States from forcing individuals with disabilities into
        segregated settings, such as psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes,
        segregated schools, and sheltered workshops, when those individuals
        could be served in their homes and communities;
Whereas the Department of Justice admits its interpretation of the Olmstead
        decision is ``out of step with common understanding of that decision
        within Federal courts'', yet encourages non-compliance with the
        integration mandate;
Whereas 36 years after the date of the enactment of the Americans with
        Disabilities Act--

    (1) more than 8,400,000 individuals receive home and community-based
services through the Medicaid program;

    (2) individuals with disabilities are participating in the labor force
at a rate of over 41 percent;

    (3) on average, it is 3 times less expensive to serve someone through
home and community-based services relative to an institution; and

    (4) individuals returning to the community from institutions report
improved life satisfaction, reduced unmet needs, and enhanced feelings of
dignity;

Whereas the continuation of segregated institutional settings has hindered the
        inclusion of individuals with disabilities in communities, schools, and
        workplaces, undermining the promise of the Americans with Disabilities
        Act;
Whereas individuals of color with disabilities experience disproportionately
        greater barriers to high-quality and accessible health care, education,
        housing, and competitive integrated employment opportunities, infringing
        on the right of individuals to fully participate in their communities
        under the Americans with Disabilities Act;
Whereas the Americans with Disabilities Act represents the floor, not the
        ceiling, of efforts needed to dismantle barriers to full participation,
        equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for
        individuals with disabilities; and
Whereas fulfilling the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires
        individuals, families, communities, and government to work together to
        guarantee that individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to
        thrive in their communities throughout their lives: Now, therefore, be
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the importance of independent living, equal
        opportunity, full participation, and economic self-sufficiency
        for individuals with disabilities made possible by the
        enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
        U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) (referred to in this resolution as the
        ``Americans with Disabilities Act'');
            (2) encourages the people of the United States to celebrate
        the advancement of inclusion and equality of opportunity made
        possible by the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities
        Act;
            (3) pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to
        identify and address the remaining barriers that undermine the
        national goals of equality of opportunity, independent living,
        economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for
        individuals with disabilities, including by focusing on
        individuals with disabilities who remain segregated in
        institutions;
            (4) pledges to work with States to improve funding for and
        access to home and community-based services for individuals
        with disabilities, with a focus on reducing and eliminating
        institutionalization;
            (5) admonishes against recent cuts, and any future cuts, to
        the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act
        (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) (referred to in this resolution as
        ``the Medicaid program''), including the establishment of
        burdensome work-reporting requirements and other barriers,
        which puts the health of individuals with disabilities at risk
        and hinders the progress made since the enactment of the
        Americans with Disabilities Act;
            (6) calls on Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to
        reverse the biggest cut to the Medicaid program in history and
        increase funding for home- and community-based services;
            (7) calls on the Department of Justice to immediately
        rescind its incorrect and arbitrary interpretation of the
        decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Olmstead
        v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) that was issued on June 18, 2026,
        relating to the integration mandate of title II of the
        Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) and
        section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794);
            (8) calls on Federal agencies to develop policies that
        advance the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
        including by--
                    (A) condemning any executive or legislative action
                that would dismantle or relocate major offices within
                the Department of Education, including the Office of
                Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the
                Office for Civil Rights; and
                    (B) calling on the Department of Labor to develop
                policies and practices, and to provide technical
                assistance, to increase the number and quality of
                competitive integrated employment opportunities for
                individuals with disabilities that enable such
                individuals to become economically self-sufficient;
            (9) calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to
        fully staff and support the Administration for Community Living
        and to champion independent living by providing information,
        resources, technical assistance related to home and community-
        based services, and supporting family caregivers;
            (10) calls on the Department of Housing and Urban
        Development to provide accessible and inclusive homes and
        communities that increase the options available for accessible,
        inclusive, and equitable housing for individuals with
        disabilities;
            (11) calls on the Department of Transportation to create
        accessible transit and airports and increase the hiring,
        promotion, and retention of individuals with disabilities in
        the transportation workforce;
            (12) calls on the Federal Communications Commission to
        provide information, resources, and technical assistance to
        enable individuals with disabilities to have full and equitable
        access to communications and telecommunications services and
        technologies; and
            (13) calls on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
        continue to implement a whole community approach and to
        increase inclusivity and accessibility in emergency
        preparedness.
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