CHAIR DOMINGUEZ: I am so delighted to see that that little rain out there couldn't dampen our spirits, you know? It takes a lot more to get our spirits dampened than a little rain, so we're delighted that you have joined us this morning.

And on behalf of the Commission -- I'm Cari Dominguez. And on behalf of the Commission, I want to welcome each and every one of you to this very special program.

It is not only the 12th anniversary of the passage of the ADA, but it's also a moment to honor the life's work of one of the legends of our nation, Justin Dart, Jr.

So I want to thank very, very much our invited guests, our speakers, whom I will introduce shortly. They have a very busy schedule with all of the activities going on today honoring the enactment of the ADA. So we're very appreciative of the fact that they wanted to be here at EEOC, the home of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

So let me just briefly thank -- and I'll introduce them later -- Deidre Davis, Kim Borowicz -- Deidre, Kim -- and our keynote speaker, Lex Frieden, for taking the time to be with us this morning. Thank you very, very much.

I also see some invited guests in the audience, and I want to thank each and every one of you for coming here and being with us. Gordon Mansfield, who was prior -- he's worn many hats in his life, but one of them was Executive Director for the Paralyzed Veterans Association, so we're very delighted, Gordon, to have you here, along with so many other shakers and movers of not only the disability rights movement, but advancing civil rights for all individuals in our nation. So I'm delighted that you joined us this morning, delighted that you came.

Let me now invite my fellow Commissioner and the newest member of our Commission, Leslie Silverman, to come up and say a few words of welcome as well. Commissioner Silverman joined us last March. She is the newest member of the Commission. She brings a wealth of expertise to the Commission, having served as labor counsel to the Senate Committee on Health -- Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Is there a reason why they call it Health? I don't know.

(Laughter.)

But we are very fortunate to have the expertise and the knowledge that Commissioner Silverman brings to invest towards advancing all of the very important statutes that this Commission enforces.

So, Commissioner Silverman, please come up.

(Applause.)

COMMISSIONER SILVERMAN: It used to actually be called the Labor and Human Resources Committee. And when they changed it, I felt like I had taken a demotion, since we moved down.

(Laughter.)

I just wanted to add my welcome to Chair Dominguez's. We are here to celebrate the fact that 12 years ago today the Americans with Disabilities Act became the law of the land. Last night, as I was thinking about what I wanted to say, I tried to recall exactly what I was doing 12 years ago today, and I realized that I was actually sitting for the bar exam.

(Laughter.)

Something those of you that are lawyers never forget.

(Laughter.)

So I represent a generation that entered the workforce at the time when the ADA was just beginning to take hold. No longer would it be okay to discriminate against an individual simply because he or she uses a wheelchair, or has diabetes or has a psychiatric impairment, or because he or she needs an accommodation that eliminates workplace barriers. We've certainly come a long way in the last 12 years.

The EEOC staff, in particular, should be incredibly proud of the role that they have played in helping to bring down "the shameful wall of exclusion" that the first President Bush referred to when he signed the ADA into law. Even those of us who watched from a distance can appreciate the significant challenges that the ADA posed for this agency.

Since the ADA's enactment, the EEOC has completed regs, issued 11 enforcement guidances, processed 142,000 charges, and litigated more than 450 cases. Yet we all recognize that there is still much work to be done; and I am delighted to have been given this opportunity to join the EEOC in its ongoing effort to eliminate every last brick in that wall.

Justin Dart dedicated his life to removing the barriers of ignorance and misunderstanding that comprise much of that "wall of exclusion." To mark the 12th anniversary of the ADA, the disability community has come together here in our nation's capital to celebrate the life of Justin Dart, and to pay tribute to this champion of civil rights.

The EEOC is pleased that you have taken the time during this event-filled and rainy day to join us and honor Justin Dart, and to celebrate this important anniversary with us.

Thank you for coming.

(Applause.)

CHAIR DOMINGUEZ: Thank you very much, Commissioner Silverman.

As we remember our past, we are hopeful for the future, and we should also be proud of our present activities and present efforts. These efforts are not only being advanced through our continued enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but, as importantly, by President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative, which is his strategy and our shared strategy for achieving the full integration of people with disabilities in all aspects of American life.

Increasing the employment of people with disabilities is one of this initiative's most important goals. Over the past 12 years, the ADA has brought about profound changes in public attitudes and the hopes and rightful expectations of people with disabilities that they can enjoy full participation in all of the economic and social benefits our society has to offer.

Unfortunately, the reality still falls short, because about 70 percent of people with severe disabilities are not working, although many are willing and able to do so.

We hope that through our work in advancing the President's New Freedom Initiative that we can redouble efforts and help that 70 percent population find their rightful place in the workplace.

So today we want to pledge our commitment in redoubling those efforts. EEOC will travel this summer, and has been traveling this summer, and will be in the fall as well, to small and large communities throughout the country in conducting New Freedom Initiative workshops for small businesses.

We're bringing the message to America's employers that they, too, will reap great benefits from this highly skilled but underutilized pool of talent.

Today we mark not only the 12th anniversary of the passage of the ADA, but, as I said, the 10th year of EEOC's enforcement efforts. So this is also a good day to remember the enormous efforts that EEOC has put into gearing up for Title I's effective date two years after the passage. We wrote regulations and provided technical guidance mandated by Congress.

The ADA's focus on public education outreach, its mandate to give employers and employees the knowledge they need to comply voluntarily, has proved enormously successful, as we now see employers providing reasonable accommodations as a matter of course.

And there is no one better to reflect on those early days than an individual who was here. In fact, when we were brainstorming as to who to invite for this segment of the program, there was a unanimous consensus it's got to be Deidre Davis. She is the one who, in the early '90s, was the first head of the ADA Technical Assistance Division. She played an important role in EEOC's national training efforts.

In a nutshell, I understand that it was Ms. Davis who positioned the agency as a major player in all of the ADA-related training initiatives. And so I can't think of anybody that can tell us more about how this success came about than Deidre Davis.

Let me first take a moment to also acknowledge the EEOC staff that is still with the Commission that worked with Ms. Davis in writing the regulations and technical assistance materials.

And if you could just -- if you are here, if you could just take a moment and stand. We want to acknowledge your presence. They are:

Naomi Levin --

(Applause.)

-- Irene Hill. Irene Hill?

(Applause.)

Elizabeth Thornton.

(Applause.)

And Sherry Powers, who was Evan Kemp's legal advisor. Sherry?

(Applause.)

Please join me in welcoming Deidre Davis.

MS. DAVIS: Thank you so much. I appreciate it very, very much. I was so surprised. I got the phone call from Peggy, and just a lot -- a flood of memories came into play when she said, "We would like you to come and talk about the time that you were with us and put together technical assistance with the ADA, and you only have" -- because I think life is always sometimes unfair -- "you only have five minutes!"

(Laughter.)

I said -- so I tried to deal with it, because for me EEOC really, truly is like coming home. And, again, when I came up to the elevator today, it was automatically reinforced, just by the love of good old friends and good people with whom I worked for a short period of time, but truly for me and for the nation and albeit for people with disabilities around the world, what turned out to be a life-altering short period of time, a phenomenal amount of time.

I'd like to just say that one thing about the EEOC in that period of time from '90 to '92, July 26, '92, I can't say enough about the camaraderie that I saw within this agency to get that mandate done that we had by Congress and by our then-Chairman, the late Evan Kemp and his chief of staff, Bob Funk.

I cannot tell you that -- there was no person in the agency who did not lend their input to making our mandate a reality throughout the agency, coast to coast. So I won't want to start calling names, because I thought about it and I said, couldn't do it. Everybody had a handle.

But let me tell you what we did, because in a very short period of time we became a true production company. We had the regulations promulgated, and the public was demanding, how in the heck do we adhere to this? And what do we do?

And we were pulled together to make what seemed like perhaps complex to the world, plain language and understandable, so that the people who were responsible for fulfilling the regulations and the mandates of the ADA would know what their responsibilities were and that the people who ultimately would benefit would know what their rights were to be. And that's where we moved ahead.

So we became a full educational program. Within a period of 18 months, we became producers of training videos. And one of our stars who is probably still waiting for her Emmy may have just come in the room. But we did a whole lot of videos -- cut -- "Remember, Liz?" -- cut, cut --

(Laughter.)

-- both for in-house staff and for out-house -- public --

(Laughter.)

-- the public consumption, things that we never really had any experience doing. But we mastered it in a very short period of time.

And the second thing, we became a mass publisher. Desktop publishing was just coming out, and the EEOC didn't even have computers that were any good. And a couple of people took it upon themselves to master the things that we needed to become desktop publishers and publish tons and tons of training materials, Q&A books, the infamous Red Book -- the Technical Assistance Guidance on the ADA, which I think today is still pulled off of shelves every minute and referred to.

We had the challenge of distributing millions and millions of pieces of material. So what did we do? We set up a distribution center and an 800 number. We made it as if it were the most important thing that all of us had to do, and we did it, and pulled it off.

The coup de grace, however, was the in-house training and the exterior training. Each of us were charged with the responsibility of mastering those regulations, teaming up in Legal Counsel, putting our suitcases on the road, and going out to every field office around the country in teams of two and training our colleagues and learning from our colleagues, because our mission was to make sure that we had a true cadre of professionals who knew exactly what the regulations required when folks started coming through the doors.

And then, the second wave of the training was, in fact, to train the people who may come to the table with a complaint, because from our past experiences, and since the ADA was -- I don't want to say our last shot, but so important to the community of people with disabilities, we did not want to have folks filing complaints on bases that weren't relevant. And that wasn't the intent.

And so the brainchild of Bob Funk, I believe, was to do a train-the-trainer pyramid. And that was one of the things that I hold dear, because in a short period of time we were to train 400 people with disabilities from around the country, from cross-disability, and they were all required to go out into their communities, each one train an additional 10 to 15 people with disabilities and 15 employers. And that's a massive amount of people and a massive endeavor.

And it was so funny because everybody -- every piece of paper that went out, every word that was on that piece of paper, had to be cleared by somebody in Legal Counsel.

(Laughter.)

And it was -- it was a proverbial beautiful nightmare all in one. And I stopped for a long time forgetting that I was in any way associated with the practice of law. I was just more into publication and shipping the thousands and thousands of boxes from my office. And the mail people -- folks will never forget.

The level of enthusiasm among the agency was wonderful. And, again, the camaraderie and the collective togetherness to make this happen has stayed with me, because from the Commission's point of view I met the people who have -- who took this on, who had the enthusiasm, who made it their own mission, their own calling, and, more importantly, people who -- from the Commission -- this is their passion, in civil rights and employment rights. And it was embodied through everything that we did as a collective entity.

Well, the team that -- the training took off very well. We let a contract out. We had partners with the Department of Justice. And for the first time, I actually was Lex Frieden's boss for a little bit, because he was one of the contractors, and I got to tell him what to do for a brief minute --

(Laughter.)

-- a brief minute.

MR. FRIEDEN: And a good boss she was.

(Laughter.)

MS. DAVIS: And we did a phenomenal job training people all around the country. And, again, it was high -- high fun, high passion, high stress, but when history tells the story you will see that in every community there are people who were trained by the EEOC training program.

Of the thousands of people who are in town today, many of whom -- probably over 50 percent can claim that they have had an impact directly from the training that stemmed from these two rooms. When we worked in these two rooms to roll out a lot of the work. And so that's a wonderful thing.

And for me, I made lifetime friends in the training. I still get cards from people when they -- they tell me about their children and what's going on in their lives from all those 10 -- 10 years plus.

So the level within the agency and within the community was one of high expectation from us and ready to pounce if we made a mistake. And we didn't get pounced on, because we, the EEOC, I think did an excellent job. And I can say from my vantage point, the ADA -- taking it to the next level -- has made a tremendous difference in the lives of millions of people.

I went from here, as many of you know, to the State Department. And the State Department, the icon of international affairs, actually didn't really think that they had any Rehab Act or ADA responsibilities. So it was wonderful for me to come in and see -- and be able to say that, "Do you know the `association with' provision does apply to the Foreign Service?" Ah.

And when the State Department, not talking out of school, said, "Nah. We think we'll go to Congress and get that rewritten, because we're the Foreign Service. And people with disabilities clearly don't want to or should not necessarily want to be in the Foreign Service." And that was my first battle.

And I said, "I come from EEOC. I know that this is not going anywhere!" And just the power to know that the people in this building would support unequivocally standing for pushing that entity to moving to doing the right thing, and we had the hammer, was a wonderful thing. And, clearly, slow but steady, the State Department and the Foreign Service is changing its tune and now knows what reasonable accommodation is.

I know my time is up. I told her I didn't -- couldn't do this in five minutes. There was no way.

(Laughter.)

But, worldwide, I got a chance to travel with the State Department, and I went over -- to over 30 countries, and God was very, very good, blessed me. And every time I went I made sure that the Embassy people had meetings with me and the people with disabilities from the countries and whatever organizations they could find. And most of the time they had a hard time, but they worked on it.

And we had embassies in many places, in Namibia and in Zambia or South Africa or Vietnam. I'd be in a room like this with cross-disability people from that country, and the only thing they wanted to know was, how did you get the ADA? Tell us about the ADA. How can we get an ADA?

And, again, I've been able to do consulting to foreign governments and grass-roots organizations about the ADA. So I want to reiterate that everyone in the room from the Commission who has touched in any way, shape, or form, anything related to do with the ADA and its implementation and enforcement, is like throwing that pebble in the pond, and the reverberations keep on going through all the little nooks and crannies around the world.

And I'm privileged, because from this experience, the short time that I had here, it altered my life, my framework from which I see how people work as teams, how I respect, no matter what, the EEOC's opinions, even though I've been on the other side of them on some occasions, and just know that we can make a difference. We did make a difference, and we will continue to make a difference.

And I thank you for inviting me. I could talk for another hour and really get into it more, but I won't.

(Laughter.)

Peace and blessings.

(Applause.)

CHAIR DOMINGUEZ: Thank you. Thank you very much, Deidre. And, you know, your stay with us needn't be that short. You can always come back. Keep that in mind. Thank you for sharing your early perspectives. It's always a good reminder of where we've been, so that we know where we're going.

And who can lead us to that next stage better than our next speaker, who is actually the hope of our next generation. That's Kim Borowicz. She's a junior at Michigan State University. You have her bio, but I can tell you that she is a real dynamo. She is an activist. She promotes the issues to advance opportunities for all individuals, and especially individuals with disabilities.

She's on the Dean's List as a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She's an active volunteer for the MSU Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and, as you can see, on and on. She's just -- she's just full of energy and full of ideas, and we are full of hope as we know that the ADA and its activities will be in good hands with our next generation, as represented this morning by Kim Borowicz.

Kim?

MS. BOROWICZ: Thank you.

(Applause.)

I am currently in D.C. participating in a program called "Civil Rights Summer." This is a program aimed at emerging social justice leaders. We're 20 students from around the country who represent different social justice issues. We're all juniors or seniors in our respective universities, and the whole goal is to bring back the knowledge that you've learned to your respective colleges.

So the program begins with an intensive week at Harvard University learning about different civil rights issues, and then coming to D.C. for seven weeks and interning in a not-for-profit of your choice. And I'm interning at the American Association of People With Disabilities. I'm the only student within the group who is working for disability rights. So within our group, I'm teaching the other fellows, as they have taught me about their social justice issue.

I have been vision-impaired all of my life due to a genetic condition called euchromatopsia. This affects the cones of the eyes causing me to be completely color-blind, light-sensitive, and have a correctable visual acuity of 20/200. Therefore, I am legally blind.

Two years ago, I attended the Michigan Youth Leadership Forum, which is a forum set up for 30 students from around the state to learn about disability rights and the power of the government for the disabled. And that forum completely changed my life, completely changed my outlook on things.

Sad to say I didn't know the ADA existed until that forum. So I think it's really sad that I lived 18 years of my life not knowing that this law was there.

Just recently I went to work at the university clothing store by my home for a month before I had come to D.C. And I had no problem doing the tasks that were assigned to me; it was just that the task list was written much too small for me to read.

So I had approached the manager, who I found to be, you know, the nicest, most kind woman, and said, "My vision impairment makes it difficult for me to read this list. Would it be possible for you to write it larger for me and possibly in a darker ink?" And she was very open to it. "Yes. You know, of course we're open to that. Of course we'll try to help you out as much as we can."

The next day, the head manager came up to me and said, "I heard that you asked for your portion of the list to be written larger. I'm sorry. We just can't do that." And he gave me this whole list of reasons that, you know, just seemed so significant in his head. And I was just shocked! I just stood there and was like, what is he saying to me? How is this happening?

So I took a minute to collect my thoughts and said to him as kindly as I could, "Sir, are you familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act?"

(Laughter.)

Blank stare, you know? This is a reasonable accommodation. And so after that, you know, the list was written larger. But what if this had happened -- what if this had happened to me three, four years ago when I didn't know the ADA was there? Would I have suffered through this job? Would I have been fired because I was not completing the tasks I was supposed to complete because I was too shy to stand up for myself?

He was trying to make me feel inferior. And I was so glad to have the ADA to back me up. It gave me power in that situation, power that I did not have in the past. That's why I am such a believer in mentoring. I would not have known these rights if it were not for the mentors at MYLF. I would not be here if it was not for the mentors that I've met there.

That's why I encourage all of you to mentor others. We all, you all, everyone has so much knowledge that they can share with other people. I mentor with Big Brothers/Big Sisters with an eight-year old who uses a wheelchair. And we always try to have conversations about accessibility and rights, and he's -- he just falls on my every word, because where else is he getting this knowledge from?

I was never taught disability history in my K through 12 education. I try to take every minority class I can get my hands on in college. Do they ever touch on the issues of the disability community? Not unless I raise my hand and start talking about it. So I think it's really important for those of us that are involved in these issues to teach students.

So we need to make it our priority to teach young people their rights, because the laws for people with disabilities are completely useless unless we know that these laws exist.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

CHAIR DOMINGUEZ: Thank you, Kim. We can count on you to keep people informed, can't we?

(Laughter.)

That's great. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with us.

We have a surprise this morning, and I'm just delighted to read a letter that has arrived from our 41st President, George Bush. And it reads like this: "I am delighted to send warm greetings to the entire staff of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as you gather to mark the 12th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

"The enactment of this historic law signified one of the proudest moments of my presidency because it ushered in a new era of opportunity and hope for people with disabilities. Today, the EEOC continues to keep this promise alive for all Americans through its leadership in the New Freedom Initiative introduced by our 43rd President, George W. Bush.

"With my greatest appreciation and gratitude, I wish you well in your endeavors to make equal employment opportunity a reality for all Americans." Signed, George Bush.

(Applause.)

I remember being at this ceremony when the -- as many of you were -- when the President signed the ADA. And I vividly recall the image of having President George Bush flanked by then Chairman of EEOC Evan Kemp to his right, and by Justin Dart, Jr. to his left. And it was a picture, as I understand, that has been the most requested photo in the White House. And it's a picture that was carried through all of the newspapers around the world, reflecting the signing of this landmark piece of legislation.

Chairman Kemp passed away in 1997, and, of course, our honoree this morning, Justin Dart, Jr., just recently passed away.

But I have to tell you, when I was Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, in the Bush 41 administration, one of the first individuals that came to visit me, knocked on my door, was Justin Dart, Jr. He came. He had just been appointed Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

And he wanted to know what my plans were for OFCCP's enforcement. At the time, it was the Rehab Act, Section 503 of the Rehab Act. And I said, "What do you have in mind?" We hadn't yet passed the ADA.

I assured him that we were going to vigorously enforce that law, and he would check in with me ever so frequently, making sure that I had not forgotten my commitment. We developed a good relationship, and I considered him a key consultant and a wonderful advisor, not only on issues of people with disabilities but also as it related to all issues relating to access and employment opportunities for all of our working men and women.

He was too ill, unfortunately, to visit with me at the time of my swearing in, the ceremonial swearing in, which took place last December. But I was thrilled to have his wife Yoshiko attend the swearing in on his behalf, and to represent the family.

Mrs. Dart could not be with us this morning because there is a major memorial service in honor of Justin Dart this afternoon, and the family has been quite busy and stretched in a number of other activities. But when we told her that the Commission had passed a unanimous resolution, she immediately said, "There's only one person that I would love to have accept this resolution on behalf of the Dart family, and that's Lex Frieden."

And so we were delighted not only that she was so pleased by the recognition and that she was willing to extend someone whom she dearly cherished as a colleague and a friend of the family and a colleague on these issues, but we're just so delighted that -- that Lex Frieden was available to accept this resolution on behalf of the family, as well as to participate with us today.

Before I read the resolution -- I'm not going to read it. Commissioner Silverman is going to read it. But before I do that, you do have Lex Frieden's bio in your packet. All I can tell you is what we all know, and that is that Lex Frieden is a legend and a legacy in his own right.

We are just so honored to have him with us today. We are so honored and so appreciative for the many contributions that he has made to advance our society and to advance civil rights on behalf of all. It's not just for the disability rights community. It's for all of us. When they benefit -- anyone in our family that has a disability, any one of us benefits, the whole country benefits.

I can't tell you -- when I see these gates opening up and mothers with their little carriages pushing through, and then you have people with luggages pushing through these gates that were made accessible for people using wheelchairs and other -- everyone is benefitting by these improvements in our nation.

So we are just thrilled and delighted to have someone who leaves a legacy every day of his life as he continues to advance the work. He has been nominated by the President to serve as Chair of the National Disability Council, and we're hoping that Congress will get active in getting him on board, so we can have him in Washington, D.C. much more frequently and take full advantage of his time here.

So before -- without further adieu, let me invite Commissioner Silverman to come up and read the resolution and present it to Lex Frieden, and then we'll turn the podium over to you.

MR. FRIEDEN: Thank you.

COMMISSIONER SILVERMAN: Whereas, July 26, 2002, marks the 12th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the 10th anniversary of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's enforcement of the ADA's provisions prohibiting employment discrimination; and, whereas, Justin Dart, Jr. played a leading role in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as Chair of the Congressional Task Force on the rights and empowerment of Americans with disabilities, when he traveled at his own expense to every state to hold public forums attended by more than 30,000 people; and, whereas, Justin Dart, Jr. honorably served in five gubernatorial appointments, five Presidential appointments, and one Congressional appointment in the area of disability policy and profoundly influenced the development of government policy on civil rights and health care for persons with disabilities; and, whereas, Justin Dart, Jr. worked tirelessly to empower every person to live up to his or her full potential to create a united voice for people with disabilities and to educate the public about the value of the ADA to American society; and, whereas, Justin Dart, Jr. established several successful businesses, including one that employed more than 25,000 individuals and provided work opportunities for persons with disabilities, thus, exemplifying the principle that when given an opportunity, individuals with disabilities can compete on equal terms; and, whereas, Justin Dart, Jr. advocated human rights for over four decades until his death on June 22, 2002; therefore, be it resolved that the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of all of its members and employees, expresses its profound appreciation for Justin Dart, Jr.'s dedication to civil rights, which helped to further the advancement of individuals with disabilities in the workplace. Signed this 25th day of July 2002, from all the Commissioners at the EEOC.

(Applause.)

MR. FRIEDEN: Thank you very much. Mrs. Dart asked me to convey to you, Madam Chair, and fellow Commissioners, and all of you who work at the EEOC, her profound gratitude and that of the Dart family for your efforts to ensure the ongoing implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Justin considered each one of you to be patriots, and he would have been very, very pleased to have this recognition. But he would have admonished each of you to understand that he was only a soldier marching side by side with you in the effort to achieve equal opportunity and equal justice for people with disabilities.

So thank you very much.

(Applause.)

Now I have the opportunity briefly to make a few comments, which I'd like to. And, actually, it's a real privilege for me to have this opportunity, because I wanted to say on my own behalf how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be here with you all who are responsible for great work in terms of the implementation effort.

The President, when he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, said that the regulations would be written within one year. This was important to those of us in the disability community because we had survived the 504/503 initiative where Congress passed, and the President signed, an act to ensure rights of people with disabilities, and it took seven years to finally have the regulations written. And probably still today we are struggling to ensure that those rules are understood and properly enforced.

President Bush wanted to assure us -- the disability community and the public -- that, indeed, the ADA was intended to be a law standing firm and enforced soon, and, therefore, he begged the agencies to -- he mandated them, frankly -- to produce regulations within one year.

And EEOC had a lot of work to do, you all delivered on that effort, and with your joint efforts following that -- and Deidre's wonderful leadership, along with Evan Kemp and Bob Funk and others -- EEOC helped to put ADA on the ground early and helped the public to understand that it was indeed this nation's intention not only to pass the law but also to enforce it.

EEOC has produced publications which have been -- Deidre made reference to them -- the Red Book. It's used minute by minute all around the country, by the ADA technical assistance centers and by others who are using it as a reference.

A number of these publications, by the way, need to be updated. And, Madam Chair, let me -- on behalf of the community --

(Laughter.)

-- encourage you to assume the leadership to review those materials, because there have been, as you know, a number of Supreme Court judgments and other judgments that impact on the guidance given in many of those publications. And we would surely enjoy the updates.

In addition to that, I think you probably should look at your printing budget, because --

(Laughter.)

-- we're going to need a lot of them.

In the area of complaints and litigation, EEOC, in my judgment, couldn't have done any better. I mean, if you look at the balance of litigation and complaint resolution across the various responsibilities of the EEOC, ADA-related complaints equal about one-fifth of the portion. And that's relative to the other laws that you have to be responsible for.

I think it is remarkable that you are placing, in my judgment, the appropriate kind of efforts on the ADA litigation and complaint process.

As a result of legal initiatives that you have taken, amicus curiae and other efforts on behalf of claimants and beneficiaries and individuals with disabilities who have been discriminated against, you have set standards and provided examples for other companies to follow, or not to follow as the case may be, and made it clear that there will be action if people continue to violate the ADA and do so egregiously.

Outreach and networking -- this is really the strength of this agency. I know it's difficult for those of you here working in Washington to realize that the impact of your efforts are felt all over the country on a daily basis. But with the regional and other offices of the Commission, you have an incredible outreach.

And the people who are working in those offices, if the Houston office, which I am most familiar with is any example, then you have outstanding people across this nation who are within an arm's reach, so to speak, of people with disabilities and others who need the advice and assistance of your agency.

And the networking that you've done with other agencies, including the ADA technical assistance centers that are funded by the Department of Education, is laudable. It's difficult, I know, I've worked in this city -- It's very difficult for agencies to work together.

We talk a lot about interagency cooperation, but there seem to be walls beyond the walls. And you all have continued to provide leadership to the DBTACs and the great people who are working out there in the communities answering calls every minute of the day.

We have a staff in Houston at our disability business technical assistance center who handle 1,000 calls a month -- 12,000 calls a year. And there are some who do more technical assistance than we do, and it's remarkable the kind of impact that you have, through your efforts here, spreading down through your area and regional offices, and through those agencies that are cooperating with you.

So thank you for that, congratulations for that, and keep up the good work.

Now I'd like to say a few things about what's coming down the road in the future for the EEOC, particularly with respect to the ADA. And bear with me, because these are only guesses. I'm not a real futurist, but I like to watch and read about the future. And I think that you all really need to be prepared for what's coming in regard to complaints related to environmental illnesses.

Environmentally-induced conditions are going to become, as our environment becomes more complex, a great concern, I think, for all of us. I think issues related to psychiatric conditions and mental illness are going to become more and more of a concern to all of us in the public, and will be an issue related to ADA for the EEOC to concentrate on.

I think even issues related to environmental stress of employees in the workplace, questions about whether people who are having difficulty in the workplace are really disabled, and these get to the heart of the issues that the Supreme Court has raised with respect to ADA. Those are definitional issues.

You all have a great capacity to begin to develop guidance, not only for the courts but also for the Congress, should they choose to clarify the ADA. And I encourage you to stay ahead of the curve, to begin to look at these definitional questions and to begin to do the kind of analysis that you have done in the past with respect to ADA -- stay one step ahead of that curve.

I think the question of temporary disabilities, people who become disabled and may not be disabled for a long time, but the question of whether their disability during a short period of time actually qualifies them for protection under the ADA will be raised.

I think that more people with severe impairments, and the Chairwoman raised the issue of the high unemployment rate of people with severe disabilities -- More and more people with severe impairments are going to be trying to get into the workplace. They won't wait any longer. And that's going to raise a number of questions you've begun to ask, and answer questions about attendant services, personal assistance, and so on. These questions will be raised more frequently.

Issues related to technology and technological assistance, whether that should be provided by the employer, the individual, perhaps a rehab agency. These questions are going to come to you more and more frequently.

I think that young people with better skills and higher expectations will soon be leaving the educational system and moving into the job market. And many of these people are not going to be as patient as those of us in my generation have been with respect to employers and work. We've heard an example of that today.

And I think that it's important to begin to look at the glass ceiling effect. We've looked at that with respect to women and other minorities. I think that people with disabilities will soon be experiencing the impact of the glass ceiling, and I think the EEOC has the capacity to begin to review those issues.

Telecommuting will be a way of life in this country and around the world in the not-too-distant future. Issues pertaining to people with disabilities in the workplace, in their home, whether the businesses that employ them have the responsibility to provide reasonable accommodation in that setting, and what is a reasonable accommodation in that setting. These are questions that will be raised.

And I think, then, the question of whether a telecommuting experience is equivalent to that in -- at the workplace, at the work site -- is a question that will be raised.

Even now, there are questions related to the social and recreational accommodations that ought to be made by employers. Many people with disabilities are indeed employed in this country today, but it's my contention and my belief that many of those disabled employees are not being able to take part in all of the benefit programs, and particularly the social and recreational programs and activities sponsored by employers. These are questions that people with disabilities will raise. These are issues that EEOC should be prepared to address.

And, finally, I'd like to quote from Justin Dart. Many of you may remember this, because he said it here at the EEOC on one of his frequent visits. "Most importantly, ADA is a landmark commandment of fundamental human morality. It is the world's first declaration of equality for people with disabilities by any nation.

"It will proclaim to America and to the world that people with disabilities are fully human, that paternalistic, discriminatory, segregationist attitudes are no longer acceptable, and that, henceforth, people with disabilities must be accorded the same personal respect, and the same social and economic opportunities as other people.

"The ADA opens the doors of opportunity for millions of isolated, dependent Americans, to become employees, taxpayers, and welcome participants in the life of their communities. It prepares the way for the emancipation of more than half a billion of the world's most oppressed people. Once again, America has passed the torch of liberty and productivity to the world."

Now, those words were almost prophetic, because next week in New York at the United Nations a group of countries will begin to debate a U.N. convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

ADA actually has been a banner for people with disabilities in this country, and it will soon be a banner for people with disabilities around the world.

I encourage you to reflect on the anniversary of the passage and signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, on our commitment to one another as a nation, and on our commitment to mankind as a social example, one where we can be proud that people with disabilities are included in every aspect of our lives, economic, social, and otherwise.

Thank you all very much for inviting me.

(Applause.)

CHAIR DOMINGUEZ: Thank you very, very much, Mr. Frieden, for those very thought-provoking remarks and thoughts. And, actually, I look forward to the day when people with disabilities have to deal with glass ceiling issues and not sticky floors and access issues, because at least it shows that we've made some progress in their advancement in the workplace.

But your comments and the issues that you've raised are clearly food for thought and for action at the Commission, so we very much appreciate your sharing your perspectives. And I know where the phone calls are now going to come from.

(Laughter.)

They will come from you.

(Laughter.)

But thank you. Lex's and Justin's legacy will note them, no doubt, as enormously effective leaders and teachers, because they have inspired a simple truth, and that is that disability rights are civil rights, not special benefits.

So we are very grateful for your unique contributions, along with those of Justin Dart and so many other leaders of this very special community that continues to lead the way for all of us in our nation.

This concludes our program. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has worked so diligently in putting this program together. We had to do a lot of coordination, so that we would not overlap with other programs going on throughout the federal government. And I notice many of you were here until late last night trying to get the last pieces of work completed, so I very much want to thank you for all of your hard work.

We do have some refreshments, I believe. Yes? Where are they? Around the corner. So please do join us for some light refreshments and deep conversation as we continue the dialogue on our reflections on the passage of the ADA.

Thank you for coming.

(Applause.)

(Whereupon, the proceedings in the foregoing matter were concluded.)

This page was last modified on September 24, 2002.

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