National Council on Independent Living
***RED ALERT***
May 16, 2000
MAKE OUR DAY...NO AMENDING THE ADA!
ADA UNDER ATTACK IN THE HOUSE!
On Thursday, May 18th the US House of Representatives Subcommittee on the
Constitution (a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee), is holding a
Hearing on H. R. 3590, the ADA Notification Act. This Bill seeks to AMEND
the ADA to provide a 90 day notification period before proceeding with a
lawsuit against an entity that is non-compliant.
DIRTY HARRY TAKES ON OUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAW!
You may have heard that Clint Eastwood has agreed to testify in support of
this bill
which would erode our civil rights. Because of Dirty Harry's failure to
comply with the ADA and his anger over being expected to comply with the
law, he is coming to Washington seeking revenge. The bill was going nowhere
until last week, when Clint Eastwood got involved after being sued for
refusing to make$7000 worth of bathroom renovations to his hotel as part of
a $6.7 million dollar renovation. He is angered by lawyers who he feels are
trying to take advantage of small business owners by trying to legally
enforce the ADA. His legal fees were very high BECAUSE HE SOUGHT TO EXEMPT
HIS BUSINESS FROM ADA COMPLIANCE. Dirty Harry has joined forces with the
National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
the National Restaurant Association and the International Council of
Shopping Centers. They want to see that their interests take precedence over
the civil rights of 52 million Americans.
OUR POSITION:
Apparently, there are some lawyers who are using our civil rights law to
line their pockets, without seeking the remedies for which the ADA was
designed. We need the American Bar Association, ethical lawyers and Congress
to deal with the unethical law practices in which some lawyers are
participating. This is not a problem with the ADA, this is a problem with
unethical lawyers.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY:
_ Flood the House Subcommittee on the Constitution with phone calls, emails
and faxes and let them know we OPPOSE HR 3590 AND ANY AMENDMENTS TO THE ADA.
Subcommittee on the Constitution
H2-362 Ford HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone 202.226.7680
Fax 202.225.7682
e-mail: none
MEMBERS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION:
Charles Canady, Chairman (R-FL)
(Email) Rep.Charles.Canady@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.1252
(Fax) 202.225.2279
Henry Hyde(R-IL)
(Email) il06@legislators.com
(Phone) 202.225.4561
(Fax) 202.2251166
Mel Watt (D-NC)
(Email) nc12.public@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.1510
(Fax) 202.225.1512
Asa Hutchinson(R-AR)
(Email) asa.hutchinson@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.4301
(Fax) 202.228.3973
Maxine Waters (D-CA)
(Email) www.house.gov/waters
(Phone) 202.225.2201
(Fax) 202.225.7854
Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
(Email) al06@legislators.com
(Phone) 202.225.4921
(Fax) 202.225.2082
Barney Frank (D-MA)
(Email) ma04@legislators.com
(Phone) 202.225.5931
(Fax) 202.225.0182
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
(Email) talk2bob@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.5431
(Fax) 202.225.9681
John Conyers (D-MI)
(Email) john.conyers@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.5126
(Fax) 202.225.0072
Bob Barr (R-GA)
(Email) barr.ga@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.2931
(Fax) 202.225.2944
Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
(Email) jerrold.nadler@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.5635
(Fax) 202.225.6923
William Jenkins (R-TN)
(Email) rep.jenkins@mail.house.gov
(Phone) 202.225.6356
(Fax) 202.225.5714
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
(Email) sc03@legislators.com
(Phone) 202.225.5301
(Fax) 202.225.3216
For more information about HR 3590, go to: www.save-ada.com
National Council on Independent Living
1916 Wilson Blvd.Suite 209 Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 525-3406 (V) (703) 525-4153 (TTY) (703) 525-3409 (F)
www.ncil.org (web) marcie@ncil.org
(email)
Marcie Roth
Director of Advocacy and Public Policy
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
1916 Wilson Blvd. Suite 209
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 525-3406 (Voice)
(703) 525-4153 (TTY)
(703) 525-3409 (Fax)
marcie@ncil.org (Email)
www.ncil.org (Website)